EXCLUSIVE: Big Beach is developing and will produce a new musical comedy based on an original idea from Nneka Onuorah (Megan Thee Stallion: In Her Words), who will direct from a script by Christina Nieves (Generation).
Currently untitled, the film is set in the present-day South, watching as a young woman’s reality is turned inside out when a school project unveils a powerful history of magic and sorcery in her family. Facing an ancient enemy bent on her destruction, she must learn to harness her own newly discovered mystical powers to protect her family.
Big Beach partners Michael B. Clark and Tim Foley explained that Onuorah approached them with “a vision for a new kind of Halloween film – one that mashes up the power of identity, the legacy of our ancestors, and the energy of youth – all stirred with the same pop-driven brilliance that she brought to her work with Meg and Lizzo.” For her first narrative feature, they continued, “it made perfect sense to pair her with Christina, whose writing we knew and loved from her work on our show VIDA. She has the exact sensibility – big ideas and biting wit – and background in the South – to complement Nneka.”
Stated Onuorah, “With Holiday films being my favorite growing up, I’m elated to embark on this directing endeavor with the amazing team at Big Beach.”
An Emmy-winning filmmaker, producer, and activist of Nigerian-American descent, Onuorah is coming off the October release of Megan Thee Stallion: In Her Words, her feature doc on Grammy-winning rapper Megan Thee Stallion for Prime Video. In film, her other credits include her GLAAD Award-nominated debut feature The Same Difference, a documentary about internalized homophobia within the U.S. Black lesbian community, and HBO’s The Legend of the Underground. TV credits include Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls at Amazon, Viceland’s My House, Netflix’s First and Last, Higher Ground’s The G Word, Lionsgate’s Black Equals Beauty, and Truth Be Told.
With a passion for writing intersectional stories that feature people of color, Nieves most recently wrote and developed an adaptation of the novel What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez? for Paramount TV. She previously wrote on the series Grease: Rise Of The Pink Ladies for Paramount+ and Generation for Max, in addition to developing her original comedy Decks with Field Trip Productions, and a limited drama series for Showtime called Macho that was based on the life of boxer Hector “Macho” Camacho.
Known for its work on such decorated films as Little Miss Sunshine, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, and The Farewell, Big Beach’s latest film, Out of My Mind — an adaptation of the Sharon M. Draper novel directed by Amber Sealey — premiered at Sundance, released on Disney+ over Thanksgiving, and was recently nominated for two Critics Choice Awards. The film follows Melody Brooks (Phoebe-Ray Taylor) as she navigates sixth grade as a nonverbal wheelchair user with cerebral palsy.
Upcoming releases for Big Beach include Becoming Led Zeppelin, which Sony Pictures Classics releases in February, and Eva Victor’s Sorry, Baby, which premieres at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Recently, they wrapped on Marc Turteltaub’s Borges and Me, an adaptation of the Jay Parini novel, starring Fionn Whitehead, Luis Gnecco, and Alan Cumming. Alongside Walden, Big Beach is developing a feature adaptation of Ramona Ausubel’s bestseller The Last Animal, with Ry Russo-Young at the helm. In TV, they’re behind the popular kid’s show Park Players on YouTube and are currently developing a series based on Alexandra Tanner’s critically acclaimed novel, Worry, with Lesley Arfin showrunning.
Onuorah is repped by UTA, Ascend Artist Representation, and Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz; Nieves by Verve and Priya Verma at Yorn, Levine; and Big Beach by Sloss Eckhouse Dasti Haynes LawCo.
