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Fox won a pitch for a musical inspired by Pharrell Williams' upbringing in Virginia Beach, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Titled Atlantis, the story will draw on Romeo and Juliet themes while adding a musical element. Pharrell and his producing partner Mimi Valdes are co-producing with Gil Netter, who has worked on films like The Glass Castle, Life of Pi, and The Blind Side. The Hollywood Reporter reports they shopped the pitch around for the past couple weeks before Fox ended up winning it.
Pharrell's recent success with producing and making music for Hidden Figures, combined with the unexpected financial success of La La Land, put this project in the perfect environment to gain traction. Tony-award winning Michael Mayer, who worked on Spring Awakening and American Idiot, is attached to direct. Martin Hynes, the screenwriter currently working on Toy Story 4, is writing the script. Williams and Mayer are both repped by WME, who is packaging the Atlantis project, according to Variety.
