Christina Milian & Steven Strait To Topline Thriller ‘Body Language’ From MarVista Entertainment; Annie Gonzalez, Gregg Wayans And Robert Belushi Also Set

EXCLUSIVE: Christina Milian (Step Up: High Water) and Steven Strait (The Expanse) will topline the thriller Body Language from MarVista Entertainment, which has wrapped production. Others set for the film directed by Cory Miller, which marks Milian’s first as a producer, include Annie Gonzalez (Flamin’ Hot), Gregg Wayans (Kidding) and Robert Belushi (Ballers).

Written by Miller and Belushi, Body Language centers on Mariana (Milian), who serves as Director of Personnel for a major security firm. Mariana excels at reading people, a skill that’s put to the test one night when her fiancé’s enigmatic college buddy, Dylan (Strait), visits to cook a celebratory engagement dinner.

Milian is joined as a producer on Body Language by Chad and Carey Hayes (The Conjuring), as well as Neon Kite’s Lisa Wight and Jay Glazer, Belushi, and Mandy June Turpin. Carmen Milian is exec producing alongside Larry Grimaldi, Hannah Pillemer and Fernando Szew for MarVista Entertainment. 

“I am so excited to be producing my first film and starring in it as well,” said Milian. “It is a thriller, something I haven’t done before. I really resonated with this story because it is absolutely something that can happen in real life which, to me, makes it even scarier.”

“‘Body Language’ has a great origin story,” stated Miller. “Rob (Belushi) and I made this as a short film and were showing it at the Malibu Film Festival when Chad and Carey (Hayes) approached us and were the ones who suggested we make this a full feature and immediately jumped on board to make it happen.”

Added MarVista’s EVP of Creative, Pillemer: “Audiences are clamoring for complex thrillers led by strong female characters. This project grabbed us on a myriad of levels: it’s a shocking and contemporary take on a classic genre many of us grew up with; it stars Christina Milian in an amazing role that’s both vulnerable and bad ass; and lastly, it offered the chance to create something super tangled and fun. Not to mention, we jumped at the chance to work with the genius Hayes Brothers, our visionary director Cory, and our producer and star Christina.”

Milian is an actress and singer-songwriter whose recent film credits include Resort to Love and Falling Inn Love. She can currently be seen starring in the series Step Up: High Water, which moved to Starz for its third season debuting in October. Additional TV credits include The Oath and Grandfathered.

Strait previously starred as James Holden in the popular sci-fi series The Expanse, which aired for six seasons. The actor is otherwise best known for starring alongside Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Olga Kurylenko and more in the Starz series Magic City from creator Mitch Glazer. Additional credits include ABC’s Revenge and such films as Sleeping with the Fishes, City Island, Stop-Loss and 10,000 BC. 

MarVista Entertainment, a Fox Entertainment Company, was founded in 2003. Recent projects include the romantic comedy Daughter of the Bride, starring Marcia Gay Harden, Halston Sage, Andrew Richardson and Aidan Quinn; Prime Video’s Christmas is Canceled, starring Hayley Orrantia, Dermot Mulroney and Janel Parrish; the indie Stay Awake with Chrissy Metz; the IFC release Hunter Hunter, starring Devon Sawa, Nick Stahl and Camille Sullivan; and the Hallmark Channel original drama series The Way Home, which will premiere in 2023.

Miller is repped by Neon Kite, APA and Felker Toczek Suddleson; Milian by Neon Kite, Milian Management, UTA and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman; Strait by Gersh and Circle of Confusion; Gonzalez by Innovative Artists, Principal Entertainment LA and Granderson Des Rochers; Wayans by The Rosenzweig Group and The Kohner Agency; and Belushi by Innovative Artists and Black Box Management and Meyers & Downs.