Entertainment
Pharrell Williams Will Film His Virginia Beach Childhood Musical In Richmond
Pharrell Williams is gearing up to showcase his Virginia Beach childhood in a new musical, featuring a star-studded cast and scenes from his coming-of-age at Atlantis Apartments. Get ready to groove with this nostalgic journey!
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By Rosaland Tyler
Associate Editor
New Journal and Guide
Expect to see Pharrel Williams rocking his quixotic childhood in Virginia Beach with Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliot and other renowned rappers, after he puts the finishing touches on his coming-of-age musical that is scheduled to begin production in Richmond.
The musical is about Williams’ childhood in Virginia Beach, located at 1021 Atlantis, the address where Williams grew up, according to a 2005 Dateline report on Williams. The musical will focus on Williams’ childhood and also include late 1970 coming of age scenes during his life in Virginia Beach’s Atlantis Apartments, a place where gunshots, drugs and violence were common, Williams told Dateline. The neighborhood was built in 1970 for low-income residents. It consists of 208 apartments that spread across 19 buildings. Williams, who owns a waterfront house in Virginia Beach and a home in Los Angeles, still visits Atlantis occasionally and has sent Thanksgiving turkeys to residents still living there.
Recent reports by the Richmond Times Dispatch said the movie is set to begin filming in Richmond. At this stage, the musical is expected to include a cast that also includes rapper André 3000, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who won the 2024 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for “The Holdovers,” and actor Kelvin Harrison Jr. who will play the lead role.
The Virginia Film Office told the Richmond Times-Dispatch, “due to client confidentiality, we do not comment on any project until authorized to do so.”
Williams, 50, became a hip-hop icon, after he finished Princess Anne High School, dropped out of Northwestern University and launched The Neptunes. Williams is also an award-winning singer, songwriter, record producer and fashion designe who also launched the first and subsequent “Something in the Water” concerts in Virginia Beach and Washington, D.C.
He has won 13 Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year in 2004, 2014 and 2019. His 2014 hit, “Happy,” received an Academy Award nomination. He also served as the producer and composer for “Hidden Figures” in 2017.
While some news reports say the film is expected to debut in theaters on Oct. 11, others say no firm film release date has been announced.
