It’s Happening! Everything You Need To Know About The Rihanna & Lupita Nyong’o Movie
May 23 2017, Published 3:09 p.m. ET
Who says tweeting doesn’t get the job done? About a month ago, an innocent Twitter user, @1800SADGAL, re-tweeted a photo of Rihanna and Lupita Nyong’o sitting next to each other at a Miu Miu fashion show in 2014. The fan captioned the pic, “Rihanna looks like she scams rich white men and Lupita is the computer smart best friend that helps plan the scams.” While the tweet could have easily been lost to the endless void that is the Internet, instead, it was retweeted, time and time again. So much so, that Hollywood took note, and lo and behold, @1800SADGAL’s unassuming tweet is now going to be made into a movie.
Back in April, @1800SADGAL first tweeted her buddy heist movie idea inspired by the striking photo. In the pic, Rihanna is wearing sunglasses, bright red lipstick, and a black leather coat with yellow and red fur lining. Next to her sits Lupita, looking smart and clever in a maroon sweater and glasses.
Upon seeing @1800SADGAL’s tweet, Lupita tweeted at Rihanna, “I’m down if you are @rihanna,” to which Rihanna replied, “I’m in Pit’z.”
Within 24 hours, Ava DuVernay and Issa Rae joined the Twitter conversation, readily agreeing to direct the film and write its script, respectively.
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And now, Netflix has purchased the project! According to Entertainment Weekly, the online streaming service landed the film after a “dramatic negotiation session” at the Cannes Film Festival, and all four women have reportedly signed on and will begin filming in 2018.
Ava confirmed the news, tweeting, “We deserve nice things,” alongside a link entitled, “The Rihanna and Lupita Nyong’o buddy movie is actually happening.” And Issa’s rep told Vanity Fair the project is indeed in the works, and the original Twitter users who imagined the concept will get credit.
Are you shocked Twitter made a movie happen? Are you excited for the final result? Sound off in the comments below!