Sartaj Singh
Keke Palmer’s upcoming slate is getting bigger! The actress is set to star in Boots Riley’s next film, ‘I Love Boosters.’ The project will start shooting in Oakland, California, on August 15. Riley is writing and directing the film for NEON. The movie is titled after the song of the same name by The Coup, a hip-hop band led by the filmmaker.
The film’s narrative revolves around Corvette (Palmer), a down-on-her-luck woman who schemes ways to get by while taking refuge in an abandoned Church’s Chicken. Corvette’s survival depends on her expertise in boosting clothing items from department stores. She is accompanied on her shoplifting sprees by the Velvet Gang, her own crew of thieves. While she regularly steals from Metro Designer stores, she has a genuine admiration for the company’s genius designer CEO, Christie Smith. However, when Smith steals one of Corvette’s designs, the Velvet Gang rallies behind her to take Smith down. Little do they know that their rebellion will start a revolution as they challenge the mogul.
Palmer is a two-time Primetime Emmy-winning actress and singer who has recently taken on the role of Scorpio in ‘This Is Me… Now,’ Danner in ‘The Afterparty,’ and the titular character in ‘Alice.’ She is also slated to star in an Issa Rae-produced buddy comedy alongside SZA. Palmer is part of a host of exciting upcoming projects, which include Sacha Baron Cohen-starrer ‘Super Toys,’ Universal’s ‘The Backup,’ ‘Good Fortune’ with Keanu Reeves, and Amazon’s ‘The Pickup’ with Eddie Murphy. The actress is also known for frequently appearing as a TV show host and judge. Her music has been featured in productions, and she went on a tour in 2023 for her album, ‘Big Boss.’
‘I Love Boosters’ is Boots Riley’s sophomore directorial. He made his feature film writing and directing debut in 2018 with ‘Sorry to Bother You,’ which became a notable critical success. The comedy movie stars LaKeith Stanfield as a struggling telemarketer who discovers a talent that propels him into a world of corporate success and greed. Riley went on to create the 2023 TV series ‘I’m a Virgo’ for Prime Video. The coming-of-age comedy follows a thirteen-foot-tall teenager as he navigates everyday life, forming friendships, falling in love, and meeting his hero. Like this project, his other works are largely set in his home city of Oakland, California, with hard-hitting themes of poverty, race, and discrimination.
Upon initial appraisal, ‘I Love Boosters’ seems to have a narrative outline similar to Craig Gillespie’s ‘Cruella.’ Much like Corvette, Cruella is a down-on-her-luck girl who is taken in by a group of thieves who help her survive. She eventually gets into fashion designing and is wronged by a fashion mogul she admires. This leads her and her gang to take on the famous designer and cause a revolution in their battle against her. Riley may have taken some inspiration from the Disney film, but it is too soon to say.
Riley’s 2006 song ‘I Love Boosters’ discusses poverty, predatory capitalism, and circumstances in the hood. The song appreciates women who risk jail time to boost shops and sell clothes for low prices to thrift stores, allowing poor people to afford them. He raps about clothing companies profiting off poor children in Asia, and that boosting wouldn’t be prevalent if rights to basic necessities were given.
Read More: Vince Vaughn and Adrien Brody’s ‘The Bookie & the Bruiser’ Begins Filming in LA in September
