EXCLUSIVE: Yvette Nicole Brown (Community) and Jonnie “Dumbfoundead” Park (Raya and the Last Dragon) have joined the cast of K-Pops!, the film marking the directorial debut of eight-time Grammy winner Anderson .Paak, which we were first to report on. Also now aboard the project from Stampede Ventures, which has secured an interim agreement from SAG-AFTRA, is new strategic partner Live Nation Productions, which has made an equity investment into the production alongside the former company. It’s been set to enter production in Los Angeles October 30, with additional filming to be done in Korea and AlUla, a historic and culturally significant region located in Saudi Arabia, which was scouted through Film AlUla, the film agency of The Royal Commission.
EXCLUSIVE: Yvette Nicole Brown (Community) and Jonnie “Dumbfoundead” Park (Raya and the Last Dragon) have joined the cast of K-Pops!, the film marking the directorial debut of eight-time Grammy winner Anderson .Paak, which we were first to report on. Also now aboard the project from Stampede Ventures, which has secured an interim agreement from SAG-AFTRA, is new strategic partner Live Nation Productions, which has made an equity investment into the production alongside the former company. It’s been set to enter production in Los Angeles October 30, with additional filming to be done in Korea and AlUla, a historic and culturally significant region located in Saudi Arabia, which was scouted through Film AlUla, the film agency of The Royal Commission.
Park joins the cast of the dramatic comedy after developing the project with .Paak, who leads the cast alongside his son, Soul Rasheed. The film is about a washed-up musician from Los Angeles who attempts to reinvigorate his career by joining the band for a K-Pop competition show in Seoul and discovers that his long-lost son has the chance to front one of the country’s hottest new groups. He jumps at the opportunity to capitalize on his son’s stardom for his own renaissance but learns that fatherhood is much more fulfilling and meaningful.
.Paak and Khaila Amazan (A Cuban Girl’s Guide To Tea And Tomorrow) penned the script. Greg Silverman and Jon Berg will produce on behalf of Stampede Ventures, with Jaeson Ma on behalf of EST Studios, and Park on behalf of Big Dummie, along with .Paak via his company APESHIT Films. Amazan will exec produce alongside Stampede Ventures’ Gideon Yu, Chris Bosco, Grant Torre, and Michael Tadross, and EST Studios’ Eric Tu, with former Paramount exec Tadross heading up the film’s physical production. WME Independent is handling sales.
Said Live Nation Productions’ Head of Production & Development Ryan Kroft, “Anderson .Paak is an exceptional storyteller and creative talent, and we’re looking forward to supporting him as he steps out for his directorial debut.”
Stampede Ventures President Bosco added that “K-POPS! is a prime example of what Stampede is all about. We develop, package, physically produce and finance the film, creating a 360 degree approach to franchising the brand beyond just the movie, including music and cross-promotional opportunities for the brand. We are thrilled to have Live Nation Productions as a strategic partner and investor in the project.”
Perhaps best known for a starring role on NBC’s Community, Brown recently appeared in the Disney+ pic Disenchanted and currently lends her voice to Netflix’s animated series My Dad the Bounty Hunter, among others. Her upcoming projects include the paramedic action comedy Code 3, starring Rainn Wilson and Lil Rel Howery, which we were first to report on.
Park is an actor and rapper who lent his voice to Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon and will next be seen in 20th’s comedy Quiz Lady for Hulu. Other notable credits for him on the acting front include Lions Gate Films’ Mid-Century starring Chelsea Gilligan and Stephen Lang, Comedy Central’s Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens, and Starz’ Power starring Omari Hardwick. His upcoming projects include Sweet Dreams starring Bobby Lee and Drugstore June starring Jackie Sandler, Haley Joel Osment, and Miranda Cosgrove.
Recent film titles from Stampede include the Morgan Neville-Jeff Malmberg Netflix doc The Saint of Second Chances, which was released last month, Lionsgate’s Ordinary Angels starring Hilary Swank and Alan Ritchson and coming to theaters this February, and Space Cadet starring Emma Roberts, Poppy Liu, Gabrielle Union, Tom Hopper and Sebastian Yatra, which will be released next year on Prime Video.
The Live Nation deal was negotiated by Anna Savage and Jeffrey Azoff at Full Stop Management, Kroft at Live Nation, Karen Gottlieb at Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks for Live Nation Productions, and Elizabeth Bell and Hannah Maxwell at Stampede Ventures.
Brown is repped by Innovative Artists and Marcia Hurwitz Management & Consulting; Park by WME, Art/Work Entertainment, and Ziffren Brittenham.