West Philly native Colman Domingo is making his directorial debut
The film 'Scandalous,' set in the 1950s, will chronicle the clandestine romance between Sammy Davis Jr. and film star Kim Novak
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Emmy-winning actor and West Philly native Colman Domingo is set to make another career splash. But this time it’s from the director’s chair.
The Oscar-nominated Rustin star will make his directorial debut with Scandalous, about the secret love affair between singer, actor, and dancer Sammy Davis Jr. and film star Kim Novak. Set in and around 1957, the project will be produced by Miramax. Colman’s Euphoria castmate Sydney Sweeney (Anyone but You) has been tapped to play Novak, while actor David Jonsson (Bonhoeffer) will play Davis.
The classic Hollywood-set film, written by screenwriter Matthew Fantaci, will follow the controversial relationship between Novak and Davis, at the peak of their respective careers. Novak was a household name, thanks to her role in Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo, and Davis was the star of films like Ocean’s 11 and One More Time.
They met as guests on The Steve Allen Show in 1956, and fell in love. But given Hollywood’s racism, many feared their interracial affair could ruin the actors’ careers. Columbia Pictures, which had contracted Novak, stepped in and, as many accounts say, threatened Davis with violence.
Despite the actors’ denial of their relationship, a Chicago gossip column announced their marriage plans in 1958. Nine days later, Davis married Loray White, a Black chorus singer. In 1965, Novak married actor Rich Johnson and then Robert Malloy in 1976. Davis died in 1990 at 64 and Novak, 91, lives on the Oregon coast.
According to Deadline, Miramax plans to shoot the film after Sweeney and Domingo finish filming the third season of the HBO hit Euphoria.
Sweeney will also be a producer on the project, along with Tani Cohen and Bobby Rock. Jon Levin will be the executive producer.
While Domingo has previously directed episodes of the AMC TV show, Fear the Walking Dead, Scandalous marks his big screen directorial debut. He is also directing and acting in a Nat King Cole biopic, which will be the first feature-length narrative film about the jazz crooner’s life. The release date for the biopic hasn’t yet been announced.
The Netflix limited series The Madness, which stars Domingo and is set in the Poconos and the larger Philly area, will premiere on the streaming platform on Nov. 28.