Studios Watching You, Me & Tuscany Before Accepting Other Films
Studios Monitoring ‘You, Me & Tuscany’ Before Greenlighting More Black Rom-Coms
Award-winning filmmaker Nina Lee revealed that her next movie’s fate depends on the success of another Black romantic comedy coming out this spring.
Lee shared on social media that her current romantic comedy, That’s Her, is on hold as major Hollywood studios wait to see how You, Me & Tuscany performs at the box office first. The upcoming film stars Halle Bailey and Regé-Jean Page.
You, Me & Tuscany is one of the first Black-led romantic films to hit theatres in a long while, produced by Will Packer, who also created Girls Trip.
According to Lee, the movie is being monitored to see if Black-led, original rom-coms can succeed commercially.
“A film that has nothing to do with me could quite literally change my life.” Lee explained, “They won’t buy it until they see how You, Me & Tuscany does.”
Lee’s situation reflects a bigger pattern in Hollywood, where many minority or underrepresented creators are cast aside or often judged by the performance of other films with a niche audience.
Because of Lee’s words, it sparked a wave of support from social media, along with criticism of Hollywood surrounding the disparity of Black-led films.
Major studios and publications alike also underestimated Ryan Coogler’s Oscar-winning film, Sinners, with audiences of every background showing up and the film making major box-office records and several re-releases across the country.
You, Me & Tuscany hits theatres April 10. Go see it; this moment could determine whether similar Black-led stories will get the chance to move forward in theatres or remain a what-if to major filmmakers.
