Zsa Zsa Zemeckis is preparing to channel Romeo and Juliet with a forthcoming feature.
The actress is set to star in writer-director Alyssa Rallo Bennett’s tragic romance State-Crossed Lovers, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. Zemeckis, whose father is Oscar-winning filmmaker Robert Zemeckis, will make her lead feature debut with the movie that hails from Stonestreet Studios and I Ain’t Playin’ Films.
State-Crossed Lovers is currently in pre-production and slated to begin filming this summer. The feature centers on Zsa Zsa Zemeckis as Mila Hart, a secretly pregnant 17-year-old dealing with conservative parents and stringent laws dictating her future. While navigating a passionate relationship with her boyfriend in his 20s, Mila is faced with challenging truths about her upbringing and must make tough choices regarding her future.
Rallo Bennett (The Arrival, ReRUN) helms the indie film from a script she co-wrote with Gary O. Bennett. She produces State-Crossed Lovers alongside Liz Ortiz, while Angela Mickey of Liz Lewis Casting oversees casting. With its focus on two young lovers facing hurdles due to family and society, the project has been described as in the vein of William Shakespeare’s classic tragedy Romeo and Juliet.
“When Zsa Zsa read for the role, I was immediately struck by the intelligence and restraint she brought to Mila,” Rallo Bennett says. “She has an incredible ability to balance the character’s rebellious passion with the emotional conflict and vulnerability underneath it. Mila is constantly navigating impossible choices, and Zsa Zsa captured that tension in a way that felt both grounded and deeply compelling.”
Zemeckis’ previous feature credits include Here, opposite Tom Hanks and Robin Wright, and Jump. She is represented by TCA Mgmt and Valerie McCaffrey at McCaffrey Talent Management.
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