American Fashion’s “Best Secret” is about to get a major highlight because of Serena Williams and Ruth Carter.

A tennis champion and a legendary costume designer team as much as create a biopic about the late obscure fashion designer Ann Lowe.

While her name may not evoke recognition amongst most, for her life she was answerable for dressing a few of the country’s most distinguished families, including the Rockefeller, Roosevelt, Du Pont and Whitney families.

Lowe, who is from Clayton, Alabama, grew up in a family of seamstresses who learned the skill during slavery and maintained the trade after slavery ended.

According to The Hollywood ReporterSony’s Tristar Pictures has acquired the pitch for the project titled “The Dress.” The story centers on how Lowe, who managed to develop into the first black woman to own a store on Madison Avenue, was also commissioned to design the wedding dress that Jackie O wore in her 1953 wedding to John F. Kennedy.

Williams and Caroline Currier will produce nine two six productions, Williams’ production company launched in 2023. Carter, meanwhile, will executive produce and is signed on as the film’s costume designer.

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The film’s script, which might be written by Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster, writers of Mister Rogers’ “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” might be based on Piper Huguley’s novel “By Her Own Design.”

Little has been written about Lowe, although lately each historians and fashion industry insiders have begun to light up her story and a profession that has spanned 40 years.

In September 2023, the largest exhibition dedicated to her and her work opened at the Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library in Delaware.

Elizabeth Way, assistant curator at the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, wrote of Lowe in the Financial Times: “As a designer, Lowe was prolific and influential. Women who wore their dresses were admired and in the public eye, inspiring broader trends. Most of her designs were for traditional events, but she was modern in the conventions of those conservative occasions. Her work is meticulously crafted in a tradition of workmanship handed down from a unprecedented lineage of Black American women. ”

Dana Elaine Owens, higher known by her stage name Queen Latifah, is preparing to direct a feature film based on her life story, starring Will Smith.

On ThursdayHarbourView Equity Partners, founded by Sherrese Clarke Soares, has announced plans to develop a “series” of hip-hop biopics Instagram post.

“We are thrilled to join forces to produce a slate of hip-hop biopics featuring these powerhouse acts, starting with Queen Latifah’s story. More to come,” the post reads.

People Magazine reports that the project might be made in collaboration with Latifah’s Flavor Unit Entertainment partner Shakim Compere, Smith’s Westbrook Studios and Jesse Collins Entertainment. Smith will produce.

“We all came into this industry together, and hip-hop has shaped each and every one of us. Hip-hop’s influence has transcended the music and left a lasting impression on the culture and society as a whole,” Latifah, 54, and Compere said in a statement, based on People.

She added: “It’s a dream come true to collaborate with friends and colleagues who not only share our understanding but also can tell the stories that have been the backdrop of our lives.”

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Latifah, a native of Newark, New Jersey, first entered the entertainment industry as a rapper in 1989, releasing her debut album, “All Hail the Queen.” She also began her acting profession in 1991 in Spike Lee’s movies “Jungle Fever” and “House Party 2,” before starring within the cult classic film “Set It Off” in 1996 and on the hit sitcom “Living Single,” which aired from 1993 to 1998. Over the course of her profession, she has released seven studio albums, including a jazz album. She has won a Golden Globe, an Emmy, and a Grammy. Latifah most recently starred within the CBS series “The Equalizer,” which has been airing since 2021.

Neither Smith nor Latifiah are recent to biopics. Latifah played Bessie Smith in HBO’s jazz singer biopic “Bessie.” Smith has since played Muhammad Ali in “Ali” and Chris Gardener in “The Pursuit of Happyness.”

According to Hollywood ReporterSmith added in a statement: “When you bring talented people and teams together, you can create something truly special.”

“I’m thrilled to be working with Flavor Unit, Jesse Collins Entertainment and HarbourView to highlight the incredible stories of some of our favorite artists and icons,” he continued. “There’s no better story to start with than Queen Latifah, an undisputed legend who has entertained and inspired us for so many years.”

TORONTO (AP) — August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson” has an insightful tackle the subject of ancestry and heritage, making the latest film adaptation, produced by Denzel Washington and directed by his son Malcolm, a family affair.

“The Piano Lesson,” which premiered Tuesday at the Toronto International Film Festival, is Washington’s third in an ongoing effort to bring Wilson’s plays to the screen. The film follows “Fences” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and, like those movies, features several strong performances from actors, including Danielle Deadwyler as Berniece and John David Washington, Malcolm’s older brother, as Berniece’s brother, Boy Willie.

In Thirties Pittsburgh, Boy Willie arrives at his sister’s home with plans to sell a family heirloom, a piano engraved by their ancestors who took it from a slave. In the heartbreaking family drama that follows, Berniece, Boy Willie, and others (Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Potts, and Ray Fisher) grapple with the haunting shadow of slavery and the burden of their family legacy.

“There are so many legacies that come with it,” says Malcolm Washington. “I think it’s part of our responsibility, when you’re in a position to make a film like this, to honor that and to keep that alive. We’re here because so many people fought and sacrificed and worked to give the next generation a chance. This film and its story are ultimately so much bigger than my family.”

Malcolm, 33, sat next to his older brother and Deadwyler just a few hours before the premiere of “The Piano Lesson,” which Netflix will release on Nov. 8 after which stream on Nov. 22. As the interview was wrapping up, Denzel Washington burst into the room.

“It all started with me,” Denzel jokingly declared, as the other three howled with laughter. “Then I had two sons, and before I knew it, I was unemployed!”

Denzel, joined by his producing partner Todd Black, said it was his son’s idea to direct “The Piano Lesson.” The 2022 Broadway production was based on Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play with much of the forged, including John David.

“Malcolm said he had an idea,” Denzel recalls. “He said, ‘Let me put something together.’ So he made a short film. I looked at him like, ‘Wow, OK. You want to make a film? This is great, make a film.’”

But Malcolm didn’t immediately resolve to do it. He told his father, “Let me see if I can watch the movie first.” He began working on the script and eventually co-wrote it with Virgil Williams (“Mudbound”).

“At first I was like, ‘Watch the movie?’ But now I get it,” Denzel says. “He’s a real filmmaker. He took his time and didn’t jump right in.”

While John David, the 40-year-old star of “BlacKkKlansman” and “Tenet,” has established himself as a significant actor in Hollywood, Malcolm, a graduate of the American Film Institute’s directing program, is just entering the highlight. “He knew what he wanted,” Black says. “And he wasn’t afraid to connect with people who knew more than he did.”

Throughout the making of “The Piano Lesson,” Denzel largely kept his distance, allowing Malcolm to do his work. Yet his passion for Wilson’s art permeated the entire production.

“He’s a huge fan of August Wilson, and it’s a really important part of his legacy to continue telling August’s story,” Malcolm says. “His main thing with all of us was to keep that focus: We’re here to honor one of our greats.”

“The Piano Lesson” is a Washington family film in other ways, too. Malcolm and John David’s mother, Pauletta Washington, plays Mama Ola. The film is devoted to their mother.

“I started with the clear idea that it was about fathers and sons,” Malcolm says. “As we were making the film, I just started seeing this mother-daughter story, and my mom is a huge inspiration to me. I’ve always seen my mom as connected to Berniece’s story.”

Malcolm’s sisters are also involved. Olivia Washington plays Mama Ola as a young woman, and Katia Washington is an executive producer. Ironically, their father, Denzel, is nearly the only person in the family not in the film. But Malcolm, wanting all the members of the family to be represented in the film, asked his father to take part in a brief voiceover.

“Am I in this?” Denzel asks. “I recorded something. I didn’t get credit. Did I get credit? I don’t think so!”

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