Taraji P. Henson has signed on to make her feature directorial debut at Bron Studios, where she will helm a high school comedy titled Two-Faced, and will also produce and star in the project.
The film follows Joy, a Black high school senior whose chances to attend the college of her dreams are threatened by her popular and charismatic school principal after she confronts him with evidence of his racist past. With the help of her friends, she sets out to expose the principal but quickly learns that he is not above waging all-out-war against the students trying to take him down.
Henson will star as the mother of Joy, and will direct from a script by Cat Wilkins, who recently graduated from the MFA Screenwriting Program at UCLA and won first place in the feature comedy category at the 2020 UCLA Screenwriters Showcase for the Two-Faced script.
Henson and her TPH Entertainment will produce with Aaron L. Gilbert on behalf of Bron and Tim Story on behalf of The Story Company, as well as Sharla Sumpter Bridgett.
Henson said in a statement: “What first attracted me to this project was Joy – she is the character I needed to see in films growing up, but never had. It’s important that stories be told from a woman’s point of view and partnering with Bron Studios and the amazingly talented Tim Story — both who use their platforms to help elevate women and people of color — feels like the perfect match”.
Henson was previously Oscar nominated for her supporting role in The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button has has thrice been Emmy nominated for her role as Cookie on Empire. TPH Entertainment, which has a first-look deal with Twentieth Century Fox TV, recently announced that its first project will be a spinoff series for Cookie.
Henson has starred in What Men Want, The Best Of Enemies and Netflix action-comedy Coffee & Kareem over the last two years. This project sounds like a great one to make her directorial debut on, and it will be intriguing to see how the film balances its very real themes of racism with high school comedy antics.
#Peace.Love.TwoFaced
