Selena Gomez to Produce “Baggage Claim” Project

Selena Gomez is headed to baggage claim

The 32-year-old Mexican American singer, actress and entrepreneur’s Wondermind and Fifth Season have acquired the rights to Julianna Baggott’s high-concept short story Baggage Claim.

Selena GomezThey’ve set Yvonne Hana Yi to write the project, which marks the first scripted content to be produced by Wondermind, co-founded by Mandy Teefey and Gomez.

Creative development will be led by Wondermind’s Teefey, Gomez, and Jonathon Glucksman.

While the vehicle would seem a glove fit for Gomez after the acclaim she is drawing for Emilia Pérez, at this point she is limited to producing. Baggage Claim follows Bethany, a bored thirtysomething whose life is going nowhere. She’s stuck working in baggage claim, the musty basement where other people’s unhappy memories are stored after a costly procedure that promises them peace of mind. These memories are stored as smells in vials and can be reclaimed for up to thirty days. Bethany is a huffer, addicted to smelling other people’s baggage. It works out fine, until she falls in love with the memories of someone.

Wondermind’s CEO & co-founder Teefey said: “We intentionally took our time to find the exact creative project we wanted to bring on as our first piece of scripted content. When this came across our desks, we knew it was something special. It felt perfectly aligned with our mission to tell deep stories that bring rich mental health narratives to the forefront. We’re committed to bringing compelling stories like this to life and are thrilled that Julianna felt connected to our approach to the storyline as well.”

 

Tessa Thompson to Star in & Executive Produce the Psychological Thriller Series “His & Hers”

It’s a case of his & hers for Tessa Thompson

Netflix has given a formal green light to His & Hers, a psychological thriller starring and executive produced by the 40-year-old half-Afro-Panamanian and part-Mexican American actress.

Tessa Thompson,The six-episode limited series, adapted from Alice Feeney’s novel, comes from writer/executive producer Bill Dubuque; writer/executive producer Dee Johnson, who serves as showrunner; filmmaker William Oldroyd, who serves as a writer and will direct the first episode; as well as executive producers Jessica Chastain and Kristen Campo.

Fifth Season is the studio.

Set in the sweltering heat of Atlanta, Anna (Thompson) lives in haunting reclusivity, fading away from her friends and career as a journalist. But when she overhears about a murder in Dahlonega – the sleepy town where she grew up – she is snapped back to life, pouncing on the case and searching for answers. Detective Jack Harper is strangely suspicious of her involvement, chasing her into the crosshairs of his own investigation. There are two sides to every story, his and hers, which means someone is always lying.

Published at the height of the pandemic in May (UK) and July (U.S.) 2020, Feeney’s His & Hers was quickly snapped up by Chastain’s Freckle Films, Campo and Fifth Season (then Endeavor Content) for series adaptation.

The project gradually staffed up and underwent development, moving the setting from London, where Anna is a BBC news reader in the book, to Atlanta, and eventually found its way to Netflix, with Thompson entering talks for the lead more than a month ago, cementing the series’ green light.

Thompson’s previous credits include the Creed films, Men in Black: International and the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero films, including Thor: Ragnarok (2017) and Thor: Love and Thunder.

Up next, Thompson will star in the titular role in Hedda, a reimagination of Henrik Ibsen’s 1891 stage play Hedda Gabler written and directed by Nia DaCosta.

Thompson is producing via her Viva Maude label, alongside MGM’s Orion Pictures and Plan B.