Pharrell’s Musical Biopic Permanently Shelved
Source: LUDOVIC MARIN / Getty
A movie starring Halle Bailey, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Brian Tyree Henry, Quinta Brunson, Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Janelle Monáe, sounds like a sure thing. But that’s not the case with the Pharrell movie Golden. The musician/producer/entrepreneur announced earlier this week that the movie has been shelved, though the reasons why remain mysterious.
Just last month, Williams told Empire in a ‘first look” story that, “Piece By Piece is about my life, whereas Golden is about a neighborhood that I grew up in, a musical expedition, set in the summer of 1977 in Virginia Beach, Virginia, with the spirit of the music [of that time]. You know how in Dirty Dancing and Grease, the music was almost a character? That’s what it’s like in this film. It’s a coming-of-age story about self-discovery and pursuing your dreams, but it’s so much more magical than that. It’s a celebration of Black life, Black culture, and most importantly, Black joy.”
Williams’ Piece By Piece, is the animated autobiographical movie told via Legos. That film was released in October making just $10M worldwide. So it may be that despite the difference in material and the array of stars involved, someone pulled the plug based on the releases being too close together.
Still, it would seem that a project in post-production could find a home on a multitude of streaming services. But Williams and director Michel Gondry, who also directed Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind both say they are, for all intents and purposes, abandoning the project. Universal has a deal with Williams whose subsidiary Focus Features put out Piece By Piece. It’s estimated that the studio will absorb a $20M hit for the Golden project.
“When all of us got into the editing room we collectively decided there wasn’t a path forward to tell the version of this story that we originally envisioned,” Gondry and Williams told Variety in a statement. “We appreciate all the hard work of the talented cast and crew. While we’re disappointed we can’t deliver this film, we have incredible partners at Universal and will collaborate in a different capacity again soon.”
See Pharrell’s latest Louis Vuitton collection below.
