LOS ANGELES, March 9 — With Tessa Thompson already installed as the movie’s lead, Eva Longoria of Desperate Housewives and Telenovela is boarding the project in an undetailed role, according to Variety.
Set in 1950s Harlem, Sylvie follows the daughter of a record store owner as she meets a young, up-and-coming saxophonist and then, years later, the pair chance upon each other again.
Tessa Thompson, of Thor: Ragnarok and Creed, had already been cast as Sylvie, and ex-NFL player Nnamdi Asomugha (praised for his turn in Crown Heights) as the musician; both Thompson and Asomugha are also serving as producers.
Now Eva Longoria is becoming involved, per Variety, though this time just as an actress.
Longoria, so well known as one of the co-stars of Desperate Housewives, has become not only a producer but also a director since the eight-season drama debuted in 2004.
She was one of the producers behind Keanu Reeves action blockbuster John Wick, fulfilling similar roles on her TV series Mother Up!, Telenovela and Devious Maids.
As a director, she has steered episodes of Jane the Virgin, The Mick and Black-ish, in addition to Telenovela and Devious Maids, and her feature-length directorial debut will come through accountancy comedy 24-7, which also has her co-starring in front of camera.
For Sylvie, directorial duties fall to the film’s writer, Eugene Ashe, himself a former R&B musician.
Projected for a 2020 release, Sylvie will be Ashe’s second feature, having converted his off-Broadway college reunion play Homecoming into a 2012 romantic comedy drama. — AFP-Relaxnews
