Lil Rel Howery (Get Out, Bad Trip) and Jermaine Fowler (Buffaloed, the upcoming sequel Coming 2 America) have signed on to star in a heist comedy from Matthew A. Cherry, who recently won an Oscar for his animated short film, Hair Love.
That success landed Cherry a first-look deal with Warner Bros., and he’s used that deal to push The Come Up into existence.
The film is described as Friday meets Ocean’s Eleven, and is based on an original idea by Fowler. Micheal Starrbury (When They See Us) has written the script.
The film will be made for WB subsidiary New Line Cinema, with Rampage and Horrible Bosses producer John Rickard producing. There’s not much else to go on right now, but Friday meets Ocean’s Eleven is all you really need to be on board, right?
Cherry’s Hair Love won the Oscar in February, after he personally raised over $280,000 on Kickstarter for the project, the most any short film had ever achieved on the funding platform at the time. Hair Love has been adapted into a picture book for Penguin Random House (which immediately became a New York Times bestseller) and been nominated for multiple awards.
Cherry said of The Come Up: “I am super honored to be working with Jermaine Fowler, Michael Starrbury, John Rickard and New Line on The Come Up. Jermaine and Michael are two of the most exciting young creatives working today and I can’t wait to start working with them”.
Fowler added: “I feel soooo damn lucky to have Matthew Cherry onboard to helm this film. He’s a brilliant filmmaker whose vibes are genuinely reminiscent of the people that inspired the original concept of the project. I know he will let everyone involved shine and execute a hilarious comedy with a profound message. Plus, he promised that I could hold his Oscar one day”.
This should be a good time. Howery is always dynamic and fun and Fowler is primed for a breakout, having already shined in supporting roles in films such as Buffaloed and Sorry To Bother You. Pairing them with Cherry is sure to be a fun mix of comedy and empathy, all wrapped up within a heist! We’ll now wait for some more plot details to emerge.
#Peace.Love.TheComeUp
