Melissa Barrera has joined the cast of ‘The Collaboration’.
The ‘In the Heights’ actress has signed on to star alongside Paul Bettany, Jeremy Pope and Daniel Brühl in the big screen adaptation of the acclaimed drama by Anthony McCartan.
“The Collaboration” is set in the summer of 1984 and revolves around the relationship between iconic artists Andy Warhol (Bettany) and Jean-Michel Basquiat (Pope).
The two agree to work together on the most talked-about exhibition in the history of modern art, but can creative giants coexist with disparate views of life and art?
Barrera is set to play Maya, a formidable truth-teller who is in love with Jean-Michel Basquiat and wary of Warhol.
The play had its world premiere at the Young Vic Theater in London in February, with Bettany and Pope playing Warhol and Basquiat, respectively.
Renowned theater director and writer Kwame Kwe-Armah is making his feature directorial debut on the project after playing the original part of the play. Production of the film will begin in Boston this month.
Melissa starred in the horror film “Scream” earlier this year, but revealed she would never have entered the genre had it not been for the popularity of the slasher franchise.
She said: “I would never look at a horror script if it weren’t ‘Scream’.
“And so I opened it because it was ‘Scream,’ and because I know how big it is… because I was a huge fan when I was younger. And then I liked the character. So I was like. ..the script is great and the original characters are going back… yea, no brainer.”