Ice Cube Trades Friday for Sunday

Ice Cube has signed on to star in the Screen Gems film “First Sunday,” which marks the feature directing debut of successful playwright, David E. Talbert.


The actor-rapper plays one of two men who botches an attempt to rob a church. They wind up taking its parishioners hostage, and those churchgoers slowly convert the robbers to see the error of their ways.


Production is scheduled to begin May 14 in Los Angeles and Baltimore. Screen Gems plans to put the film in theaters during the next Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend.


Following in the footsteps of fellow playwright-turned-filmmaker Tyler Perry, Talbert is currently weighing offers to adapt several of his plays for the big screen, reports Variety. Like Perry, Talbert has written dozens of gospel-themed productions that have generated tremendous box office for the past 15 years. His latest, "Nick of Tyme," is currently on tour with Morris Chestnut in the lead.


Cube returns to theaters this spring with the Steve Carr-directed "Are We Done Yet?," a sequel to his hit comedy "Are We There Yet?" The rapper is also developing "Welcome Back, Kotter" at the Weinstein Co.