Australian comedian and actress Rebel Wilson is officially adding another qualifier to her multi-hyphenate status – she will soon also be known as a director.
The 43-year-old Senior Year star announced overnight that she will be making her directorial debut with feature film The Deb, an original movie musical that will be lead by an Australian cast and production team, and start filming Down Under later this year.
“Announcing my directorial DEB-UT at Cannes Film Festival today with these incredible stars ⭐️,” Wilson wrote on Instagram alongside snaps taken at a yacht party she hosted on the French Riviera.
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”The movie is called The Deb and it’s an original Australian musical about a teen girl going to her debutante ball in a country town,” Wilson’s post continued.
“I can’t wait to film this later this year in Australia and share it with you all!”
Among the cast is Australian actresses Natalie Abbott, Charlotte MacInnes and Stevie Jean.
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Wilson, according to Deadline, will also co-star in the film, and the cast – which also includes Jay Laga’aia, Shane Jacobson and Tara Morice – will start shooting in Sydney and rural New South Wales in September.
The Deb is based on the stage show written by Hannah Reilly and Meg Washington, which premiered at Sydney’s Australian Theatre for Young People in 2022.
“Not all projects in Australia have universal appeal, but this one does,” Wilson told the outlet, noting she first heard the score three years ago and started looking to turn it into a film after its ATYP run last year.
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Wilson’s Camp Sugar Productions will co-produce the film with Unigram, AI Film, Bunya Productions, and with Danny Cohen as executive producer.
The Deb is about two young women in Australia from different cultures – it “brings the bush into the city”, Wilson says – who are looking for a date to the debutante ball.
The Pitch Perfect star says she’s been offered films to direct over the years, but this one struck a chord.
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”I feel like if it’s going to take 18 months out of my life and out of my schedule then it has to be something special if I’m going to turn down other things,” Wilson told Deadline.
“Also, I felt this show makes you laugh and it makes you cry. I knew this was the one.”
Wilson told the outlet making the film Down Under was important to her, noting how Nicole Kidman gave her a scholarship, and she later paid it forward to Hannah Reilly.
“It’s about giving back, and to do it in Australia is great,” Wilson said.
Her daughter, Royce Lillian, and fiancée Ramona Agruma will also be coming with her to Australia for the duration of the film’s production.
And, in 2024, she says, Wilson and Agruma will finally tie the knot.
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