EXCLUSIVE: Singer and actress Joanna “JoJo” Levesque (Moulin Rouge The Musical!) will star with Luke Cage and Evil star Mike Colter in LA-set drama-romance The Very Thought of You.
The stars will also exec-produce the project, which is written and produced by John Zaring (Pursuit of Happiness).
Described to us as a “soulful, jazz-infused love story” set in Los Angeles’s Eagle Rock neighborhood, the film “follows Emmy Davis (Levesque), a former television talent show finalist whose life unraveled at 16 after sexual abuse at the hands of a powerful music producer. Now 30, she lives quietly as a barista, caring for her grandmother and keeping her past hidden — until she meets a jazz pianist and college professor (Colter) struggling to rediscover his rhythm while raising his young daughter as a widowed father. When music brings them together, both are forced to confront the past and decide whether they’re willing to risk everything for a second chance at love.”
Van Scott Folger (American Underdog) is producing alongside Zaring. Joining Colter and Levesque as executive producers are ZCE partners Bianca Cioffi (So, Is This Love?) and Charles Vignola, who spent three decades developing blockbusters at Jerry Bruckheimer Films before joining ZCE in 2024.
The film is being produced under the Zaring/Cioffi Entertainment banner in association with Colter Productions. Production is due to begin in LA in November, 2026.
“I’ve always been drawn to stories that connect music and emotion,” said Colter. “This film is about two people finding their rhythm again, not just in their hearts but on stage.”
Levesque, who is making her first movie appearance in more than a decade, added: “The story touches on the power imbalances that exist in an industry where women are too often taken advantage of, and it does so in a truthful, compassionate way. The role of Emmy is a gift for an actress who sings, and I’m so excited to bring her to life.”
Levesque, the joint-youngest solo artist to have a number one hit in the U.S., has released six studio albums to date. The Masked Singer contestant has also acted on Broadway, in TV series and made her on-screen feature debut in 2006 comedy Aquamarine.
Colter is repped by CAA, Strand Management, and McKuin Frankel Whitehead; Levesque is represented by WME, Randy Jackson and Katie Gallagher, and Carroll Guido Groffman Cohen Bar & Karalian. Zaring and Zaring/Cioffi Entertainment are represented by Epidemic Global and Goff Law.
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