Awkwafina and Ike Barinholtz will produce and star in STXfilms’ comedy caper “Crime After Crime.”
Awkwafina will portray a millennial podcast host who agrees to help a convict that she has devoted her true-crime podcast to prove his innocence after he escapes jail and turns up at her house.
Dan Gurewitch and David Young are writing the screenplay, with Nick Stoller and Conor Welch producing under their Stoller Global Solutions banner alongside Awkwafina, Barinholtz and David Stassen.
STX’s Kate Vorhoff and Catherine Hagedorn will oversee the film’s production on behalf of the studio.
“Awkwafina and Ike are comedy powerhouses who make a supremely funny duo, and we can’t wait to see what they bring to this sharp and fun material,” said Adam Fogelson, chairman of STXfilms.
Welch joked, “Nick and I are huge fans of Awkwafina. Ike, not so much. But he was already attached.”
Awkwafina, a rapper-turned-actress, broke out in last year’s hits “Oceans Eight” and “Crazy Rich Asians.” She will next be seen in the Sundance drama “The Farewell,” which was acquired by A24 and will be released in July. Awkwafina will also star in the untitled sequel to “Jumanji: The Lost World.” She also co-created a show for Comedy Central that she will star in.
Barinholtz recently starred in the comedy “Blockers.” He made his feature directorial debut with 2018’s “The Oath,” which he starred in opposite Tiffany Haddish. He next appears in Amazon’s “Late Night” with Mindy Kaling and Emma Thompson, along with the Jordan Peele-hosted anthology series, “The Twilight Zone.”
Awkwafina is represented by UTA, Artists First, and attorney Isaac Dunham of Schreck Rose. Barinholtiz is represented by UTA, Artists First Inc. and attorney Jared Levine at Morris Yorn Barnes Levine Krintzman Rubenstein Kohner & Gellman. Gurewitch and Young are both represented by UTA.