H.E.R. Teams with Oprah Winfrey for Majorettes-Inspired Dance Movie

H.E.R., the Oscar, Emmy, and five-time Grammy award-winning musical artist who made her feature acting debut with the recent The Color Purple musical adaptation, is keeping her movie career marching along.

The multi-hyphenate is set to develop, produce, and star in a majorettes-inspired project set up at 20^th Century Studios.

The untitled project reteams her with Oprah Winfrey and Scott Sanders, her producers on Color Purple. Fascinated by the majorettes and their impact on Black culture, H.E.R. approached Winfrey and Sanders with this project after working with them on Color Purple. The duo will produce alongside H.E.R., with Winfrey producing via her Harpo Films, and Sanders through Scott Sanders Productions.

Lauren Ashley Smith has been tapped to pen the script for what is being  described as dance movie set at a fictional Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in Atlanta. The story follows an introverted ballet dancer from L.A. who defies her parents by putting her thriving dance career on hold to go to college. There, she joins her HBCU’s struggling majorette team and attempts to overcome culture shock, her stuffy dance background, and fierce rivals to help return the team to its former glory.

The intent is to make a funny, joyous celebration of authentic HBCU life told through the point of view of a majorette who, through experiencing HBCU life for the first time, will start to tap into who she really is. Majorette traditions, which combines marching band, dance, and gymnastic elements, has emerged in the last 50 years as a major cultural touchstone in college and Black culture.

In addition to H.E.R., Winfrey and Sanders, the film will be produced by Carla Gardini and Mara Jacobs.

Rashonda Joplin will oversee the project for 20th Century Studios.

Smith is an Emmy-nominated writer and the co-host of the Gracie award-winning, daily pop culture SiriusXM radio show, Smith Sisters Live. On the TV side, she is currently in an overall deal at CBS Studios. Prior to that, she was the head writer and co-executive producer of the first two seasons of HBO’s A Black Lady Sketch Show, for which she won a TCA Award and received three Emmy nominations, including outstanding writing for a variety sketch series.

H.E.R. made a name for herself as a singer-songwriter and with two albums that earned a slew of Grammy nominations, including five wins. Her song “Fight for You” was in the civil rights drama Judas and the Black Messiah and won the Oscar for best original song as well as a Grammy.

She made her acting debut playing Mary “Squeak” Agnes, a key character with a musical touch in Color Purple, which debuted in December and earned numerous nominations this past awards seasons.