Jessica Fisher
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Rebel Wilson (Bridesmaids, Pitch Perfect) is making her directorial debut with the musical comedy The Deb, the big-screen adaptation of an Australian debutante musical set in the outback. The project was launched around the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday, at a private event aboard billionaire investor Blavatnik’s yacht, where cast members from the Aussie musical performed a number of songs on the vessel’s upper deck.
Wilson, who also has a role in the film, said of the upcoming project:
“Because I’ve been on set and have done so many musicals, you kind of pick up things like how to shoot a musical number and how to do the soundtrack, because you’re there and you’re part of it. I’ve always just been watching as the actress — watching, watching, watching — and then I produced a lot of things with musical numbers in them, like ‘Senior Year’ on Netflix, which had a lot of cheerleading routines. Everyone kept saying, ‘You should direct!’ … I just started getting offered movies to direct from studios, so then I was like, ‘Oh my God, if I have to take a year out of my life and not be an actress and be a director, it has to be something that I am massively passionate about.’”
Originally premiering at Sydney’s Australian Theatre for Young People in 2022, The Deb theater production was written by Hannah Reilly (Sheilas) and includes original songs from singer-songwriter Meg Washington (The Beach).
The musical follows lovable farm girl and high school outcast Taylah Simpkins (Natalie Abbott), who is certain the upcoming Debutante Ball, nicknamed “the Deb,” is her one chance to redefine herself. When her cynical city cousin Maeve (Charlotte MacInnes) is exiled to Taylah’s drought-stricken town Dunburn, she thinks the ball is a “heteronormative shit-show” and immediately disrupts the status quo. In their search for the spotlight, Taylah and Maeve dig deep to find self-acceptance — and a date to the Deb.
The adaptation will feature a cast of rising Australian stars including Charlotte MacInnes, who played Maeve in the Aussie musical; award-nominated Natalie Abbott; and Stevie Jean. Other Australian talent in the film includes Tara Morice, Jay Laga’aia, Shane Jacobson and Wilson.
Production is set to begin in Australia in September.
via: Variety