Exclusive: Actress Sanaa Lathan will be making her feature directorial debut on Paramount Players’ adaptation of Angie Thomas’ New York Times bestseller On the Come Up.

The feature project has been a priority for Paramount Players and they were impressed with Lathan’s vision for the film, the story of which comes from the author of The Hate U Give; that novel turned into a 2019 Fox 2000 motion picture.

On The Come Up, from HarperCollins imprint Balzer & Bray, centers on 16-year-old Bri, who wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. Or at least win her first battle. But it’s hard to get your come up when you’re labeled a hoodlum at school, and your fridge at home is empty after your mom loses her job. So Bri pours her anger and frustration into her first song, which goes viral…for all the wrong reasons. Bri...