In the midst of trying to sell her own Black-led romantic comedy to Hollywood studios and executives, filmmaker <\/span>Nina Lee<\/span><\/a> kept hearing the name of another: \u201cYou, Me & Tuscany.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The buzzy film, directed by Kat Coiro and starring Halle Bailey and Reg\u00e9-Jean Page, centers on a young woman whose impulsive decision to crash an empty Italian villa sparks an unexpected romance that changes her life. It arrives in theaters April 10.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n It\u2019s the kind of fun-loving, big-screen rom-com that audiences \u2014 especially Black audiences \u2014 haven\u2019t seen in a while. And by all accounts, a lot is riding on its release.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n That became especially clear in a series of viral posts Lee shared Wednesday on X, where she strongly encouraged moviegoers to show up for \u201cYou, Me & Tuscany\u201d next month. Her posts came <\/span>in response to another<\/span><\/a> noting that studios are closely watching the film\u2019s opening weekend to gauge its box office performance.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201c1. Met with a studio about my already shot romcom and they won\u2019t buy it until they see how You, Me & Tuscany does. 2. Met with an exec about a romance script I have, they won\u2019t buy it until they see how You, Me & Tuscany does,\u201d Lee wrote in one X post.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cA film that has nothing to do with me could quite literally change my life,\u201d she added in her thread.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n 1. Met with a studio about my already shot romcom and they won\u2019t buy it until 2. Met with an exec about a romance script I have, they won\u2019t buy it until 3. Go see this film!<\/p>\n \u2014 nina lee (@NinaSerafina) March 25, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n A film that has nothing to do with me could quite literally change my life. Plus, I\u2019ve heard it\u2019s really great so I\u2019m looking forward to supporting.<\/p>\n \u2014 nina lee (@NinaSerafina) March 25, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Within 24 hours, Lee\u2019s posts racked up hundreds of reshares and quote tweets, more than half a million views and a flurry of reactions from outraged users responding to her industry revelation. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Begging y\u2019all to tap into You Me and Tuscany. The fact that this movie is going to determine if there will be more black led romcoms is just absolutely insane to me<\/p>\n \u2014 Film&TV Rants (@FilmTVRants) March 25, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Hollywood so antiblack if ONE black romcom fails the careers of multiple black filmmakers will be hit\u2026 white romcoms can fail and they will still make new ones. https:\/\/t.co\/VCZwIGW4Dk<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 \u064b (@drivenbyfilms) March 26, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n This type of shit pisses me off so bad. White rom coms flop all the fucking time yet they\u2019ll keep doling out money to make em. But let one black movie flop and they won\u2019t give a black writer\/director\/producer the time of day for the next decade https:\/\/t.co\/uf148l5jw3<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Blue Jai (@Jai_Reddington) March 26, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n every year there\u2019s a study that comes out saying people are starved for diversity and we\u2019ve got execs still thinking we collectively, as black people, are only as good as the latest black film https:\/\/t.co\/QbcvyhEl1o<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 lyvie scott (@lyviescott) March 26, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n i just think it’s insane how she has to jump through hoops to get her film greenlit while we’re actively releasing remakes of things we’ve already done every two years https:\/\/t.co\/mcMIAY9DwO<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 jack \ud80c\udff2\u05bc\ud834\udd22 (@claudiadoves) March 25, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Lee\u2019s posts even drew a response from \u201cYou, Me & Tuscany\u201d producer Will Packer, who echoed her point that the success of the film \u2014 a rom-com with two Black leads getting a wide theatrical release, a rarity in Hollywood\u2019s \u201ccurrent IP obsessed environment\u201d \u2014 could \u201cchange a lot of people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Could change a lot of people\u2019s lives. Hollywood has always been reactive not proactive but in the current IP obsessed environment A LOT of eyes are on an Original Romantic Comedy with two Black leads. https:\/\/t.co\/AiZSeWclbs<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Will Packer (@willpowerpacker) March 26, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIt was nuts,\u201d Lee told celebrity.land of the stir her posts caused. \u201cI didn\u2019t think anything about it. I kind of just went on about my day. I was judging a short film competition at a high school, and so I get out of the program, check my phone and I\u2019m like, \u2018What the hell?\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cBut it\u2019s also really cool,\u201d she added of the conversation her posts ignited, \u201cbecause it just seemed like something that resonated with so many other filmmakers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n It wasn\u2019t just filmmakers agreeing with her. Lee \u2014 an award-winning director, writer and actor who has starred in projects like \u201cSorry About That\u201d and her short film \u201cArtistic\u201d \u2014 saw the conversation hit home for Black novelists and other creatives, too. Even one <\/span>screenwriter shared<\/span><\/a> that his Asian American rom-com was rejected by \u201cevery studio\u201d he went to, despite having a producer attached who had \u201cdirected the most successful rom-com in the last decade.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIt felt like it created an open space for a dialogue about how, as Black filmmakers, as people of color, so many things rest upon whether our works get seen or not,\u201d Lee noted.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cYou, Me & Tuscany\u201d marks the first Black-led rom-com to reach theaters in what feels like ages \u2014 but not for a lack of effort.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n As Lee explained, she\u2019s been working to secure distribution for her own rom-com, \u201cThat\u2019s Her,\u201d starring comedian Kountry Wayne and Grammy-winning singer Coco Jones, since production wrapped at the end of 2024, with post-production finishing this past September.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThat was kind of the beginning of a lot of nos,\u201d the director said of the meetings with studios and executives that began the following month.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Even so, she recalled execs telling her, \u201cWe want to meet the director because we still really loved [the movie]. We just don\u2019t want to buy it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n For Lee, that feedback was \u201cinteresting,\u201d but not entirely surprising \u2014 especially as she continued hearing about other rom-coms already on studios\u2019 slates, with decision-makers waiting to see how those perform with audiences before committing to anything new.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cBut I still appreciated those execs reaching out just to give me some words of encouragement, because shit was real bleak earlier this year,\u201d the filmmaker said bluntly, noting that, so far, she hasn\u2019t directed anything yet, all studios have passed on her film and she also got laid off from her day job.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThat just made me remember, OK, it\u2019s not me. I\u2019m a good director. I have a good film,\u201d she told herself. \u201cIt\u2019s the industry.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n That\u2019s a fair assessment on Lee\u2019s part, especially given that her viral X thread included screenshots from the <\/span>2025 ReFrame Report<\/span><\/a>, which analyzed the year\u2019s top 100 films according to IMDb Pro and found that only 11 were directed by women. When I asked why she highlighted that statistic publicly, Lee simply said, \u201cbecause it\u2019s hard out here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not just a Black issue,\u201d Lee added. \u201cMy white female director friends are going <\/span>through<\/span><\/em> it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n She witnessed this firsthand during her time on HBO Max\u2019s 2023 \u201cProject Greenlight\u201d reboot, which gave filmmakers the opportunity to direct their first feature film.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cSome of the girls were white, and they\u2019re not getting their films made,\u201d Lee recalled. \u201cReally, no one is getting their films made the way they used to. \u2026 It\u2019s hard for women in general. But then you add in the [intersectionality] of it all, I\u2019m Black, and I\u2019m a woman, it\u2019s just even more bleak.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Even with the challenges of the industry and recent setbacks, Lee\u2019s passion for filmmaking remains steadfast. She still plans to move forward with her film \u2014 which also features Loretta Devine, Emmy Raver-Lampman, J. Alphonse Nicholson, Tabitha Brown, Patricia \u201cMs. Pat\u201d Williams and Bovi \u2014 and bring it to audiences soon.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve all just decided we\u2019re going to create our own momentum for this and show people that there is a space for it,\u201d Lee said of the rom-com. \u201cAnd in that, I\u2019m including uplifting other films.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIt takes a lot of nos to get that yes,\u201d she added. \u201cBut I\u2019m used to it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Giulia Parmigiani\/Universal Pictures<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n It wasn\u2019t always this way for Black rom-coms in Hollywood. There was a golden era in the \u201990s and early 2000s when audiences could count on at least one hitting theaters nearly every year, from \u201cStrictly Business\u201d (1991), \u201cBoomerang\u201d (1992), \u201cHow Stella Got Her Groove Back\u201d (1998) and \u201cThe Best Man\u201d (1999) to \u201cTwo Can Play That Game\u201d (2001), \u201cBrown Sugar\u201d (2002), \u201cBreakin\u2019 All the Rules\u201d (2004), \u201cLast Holiday\u201d (2006) and more.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cRomantic comedies were a staple at that time,\u201d Gary Hardwick, director of \u201cDeliver Us From Eva\u201d and \u201cThe Brothers,\u201d two more classic rom-coms, told <\/span>Glamour<\/span><\/a> in 2019. \u201cEvery spring, you knew there would be one or two or three around Valentine\u2019s Day and then through the summer. For a long time, they were making hundreds of millions of dollars, so it was a thriving market.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Even in the 2010s, rom-coms like \u201cThink Like a Man\u201d (2012), \u201cJumping the Broom\u201d (2011), \u201cJust Wright\u201d (2010) and \u201cAbout Last Night\u201d (2014) revived a period of nostalgia where Black love and joy onscreen once again felt abundant. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Since then, though, it\u2019s been a dry spell, with fewer and fewer rom-coms being produced as Hollywood has leaned heavily into the <\/span>superhero craze<\/span><\/a>. Perhaps the industry needs \u201ca come-to-Jesus moment,\u201d as \u201cThe Supremes at Earl\u2019s All-You-Can-Eat\u201d director <\/span>Tina Mabry previously suggested to celebrity.land<\/span><\/a>, \u201cto say, \u2018What are we doing?\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cY\u2019all could still make money and we can still make art,\u201d she pointed out in an honest assessment of Hollywood. \u201cThe two don\u2019t have to cross each other out, and everything doesn\u2019t have to be a Marvel movie. It just doesn\u2019t.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n As Hardwick noted to Glamour, \u201ceveryone suffers a little bit by comparison\u201d when the industry\u2019s interests shift away from rom-coms in favor of million-dollar moneymakers like the <\/span>Marvel Cinematic Universe<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>IP-driven blockbusters<\/span><\/a>. However, Black people \u201ctend to suffer more because there\u2019s less product made for us in the first place.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWhat seems like a minor ailment to the business seems like a catastrophic ailment to us,\u201d he continued. \u201cIf they made 10 comedies years ago, now they\u2019re only making five. They might have made two of those as Black comedies, and now there are none.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Giulia Parmigiani\/Universal Pictures<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n That\u2019s part of why there\u2019s so much pressure riding on \u201cYou, Me & Tuscany\u201d \u2014 not just for the film itself, but for the future of Black romance films as a whole. The stakes that the rom-com represents resonate not only with audiences supporting it online (and soon in theaters) but also with the film\u2019s leading cast.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Speaking with People<\/a> about why he signed on, Page hinted that the scarcity of recent rom-coms played a role.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIt might have been that. The idea that the rom-com is dead,\u201d he said. \u201cLove definitely isn\u2019t dead. Love will save us. And I think that I\u2019m happy to wave that flag.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n For Bailey, she told SiriusXM\u2019s<\/a> Sway Calloway and Heather B that, as a Black woman, she\u2019s become more intentional about starring in projects \u201cwhere I see myself.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIt\u2019s so important for us to see ourselves,\u201d she added of the film, \u201cespecially as beautiful Black people.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n With each new Black-led rom-com that comes along, audiences are offered a glimmer of hope for a changing tide, even if the path ahead looks steep. Today, theatrical releases are up against the streaming powerhouses, and the industry itself seems to have regressed when it comes to regularly churning out romantic comedies \u2014 and even fewer starring Black leads.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI think that the film industry is in a new space when it comes to streaming and people allegedly not going out to theaters as much, so everyone\u2019s just trying to figure it out,\u201d Lee noted. \u201cUnfortunately, when things are trying to be figured out, the first thing at risk of being abandoned is Black art, and so there\u2019s this importance of just support, support, support.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cLove Jones\u201d director Theodore Witcher told celebrity.land in 2020<\/a> that rom-coms have historically been \u201cdifficult to pull off successfully.\u201d Still, fans planning to see \u201cYou, Me & Tuscany\u201d during its opening week seem determined to prove otherwise.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In a perfect world, \u201cYou, Me & Tuscany\u201d could pull a box office upset and prove the industry wrong. But as hopeful as Lee remains, she recognizes that studios may still hesitate to pick up rom-coms like hers. This is, after all, the same industry that has hardly made it easy for women in Hollywood to break through<\/a> \u2014 even after the billion-dollar success of Greta Gerwig\u2019s \u201cBarbie\u201d<\/a> just three years ago.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWe should be having more films directed by women \u2014 blockbuster films. And that just did not happen,\u201d Lee said. \u201cSo there\u2019s a chance [that they will move the goalpost]. That just means you gotta keep fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
They see how You, Me & Tuscany does <\/p>\n
They see how You, Me & Tuscany does <\/p>\n\n
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