Michaela Jaé Rodriguez Will Topline Black List Feature “Wildfire”
Being shouted out by “Pose” creator Ryan Murphy in his Golden Globes acceptance speech hasn’t been the only highlight of Michaela Jaé Rodriguez’s week. The history-making actress has been tapped to lead “Wildfire.” Deadline reports that the script for...
Konoly
Being shouted out by “Pose” creator Ryan Murphy in his Golden Globes acceptance speech hasn’t been the only highlight of Michaela Jaé Rodriguez’s week. The history-making actress has been tapped to lead “Wildfire.” Deadline reports that the script for the pic recently made the Black List.
Penned by Chaya Doswell, “Wildfire” follows Lu, a seven-year-old “who accidentally starts a wildfire. A mute from an abusive home, Lu slyly tricks Merribelle, a hardworking trans woman, into kidnapping her — sparking a beautifully unexpected bond with a devastating expiration date.”
A director isn’t attached to the project yet.
Last year Rodrguez became the first trans actress to win a Golden Globe. Since the event wasn’t broadcast, Murphy took the opportunity to highlight her win at Tuesday’s ceremony. “A year ago, the Golden Globes weren’t televised, but the show did go on,” he said. “And I was so thrilled when it was announced that MJ Rodriguez, from my show, ‘Pose,’ had been awarded Best Actress in a Drama Series. In doing so, MJ from Newark, New Jersey, became the first trans actress ever to win a Golden Globe. And I thought, ‘Wow, how I would have loved for MJ to be on this stage getting the standing ovation she deserved for making history.'” He then asked Rodriguez to stand up and for attendees to give the trailblazer “the ovation that she deserves.”
Rodriguez has also made history at the Emmys, becoming the first trans performer to earn a Primetime Emmy nomination in a lead acting category in 2021.
You can catch Rodriguez in “Loot,” an Apple TV+ series that sees Maya Rudolph playing a newly divorced billionaire who decides to get more personally involved with her charitable foundation. The comedy has been renewed for a second season, but a premiere date hasn’t been announced yet.
