How ‘The Perfect Find’ Director Numa Perrier Honored and Updated Tia Williams’ Book At the Same Time
Netflix’s “The Perfect Find” director Numa Perrier collected generational references in her film adaptation of Tia Williams’ novel.
The story follows Jenna Jones (Gabrielle Union) and Eric Combs (Keith Powers) who gravitate toward each other despite a substantial age gap and the fact that Eric is the son of Jenna’s boss Darcy (Gina Torres).
The two pair up for a creative project for Darzine, Darcy’s fashion magazine. The project, which eventually becomes “The Perfect Find” highlights fashions inspired by Black starlets of Hollywood’s past. Jenna and Eric also bond over their love for old Hollywood — like Nina Mae McKinney, who pops up throughout the film with clips from “Hallelujah!,” a Greta Garbo clip from “The Flesh and Devil” and Spike Lee’s “School Daze,” featured at a drive-in movie date.
Perrier explained the process behind making references to classic Black Hollywood, first during Jenna’s swap meet browsing,...
The story follows Jenna Jones (Gabrielle Union) and Eric Combs (Keith Powers) who gravitate toward each other despite a substantial age gap and the fact that Eric is the son of Jenna’s boss Darcy (Gina Torres).
The two pair up for a creative project for Darzine, Darcy’s fashion magazine. The project, which eventually becomes “The Perfect Find” highlights fashions inspired by Black starlets of Hollywood’s past. Jenna and Eric also bond over their love for old Hollywood — like Nina Mae McKinney, who pops up throughout the film with clips from “Hallelujah!,” a Greta Garbo clip from “The Flesh and Devil” and Spike Lee’s “School Daze,” featured at a drive-in movie date.
Perrier explained the process behind making references to classic Black Hollywood, first during Jenna’s swap meet browsing,...
- 7/20/2023
- by Dessi Gomez
- The Wrap
Actress Gina Torres made sure that there was more to her character Darcy in Netflix’s “The Perfect Find” than the narcissistic label, which stemmed from Tia Williams’ novel of the same name.
Darcy offers the story’s protagonist Jenna Jones (Gabrielle Union) a job after Jenna goes through a very public breakup and firing, but she and Jenna go way back — mainly as nemeses. Once Jenna meets Darcy’s son Eric Combs (Keith Powers), the two cannot stay away from each other, and it’s only after they kiss that Jenna learns Eric is Darcy’s son.
“I loved the old villains of 90s nighttime soaps, so I would say that that kind of started there, but I also wanted people to be treated to her humanity as well,” Torres told TheWrap. “That she just wasn’t this two-dimensional villain that wanted to make Jenna’s life miserable that...
Darcy offers the story’s protagonist Jenna Jones (Gabrielle Union) a job after Jenna goes through a very public breakup and firing, but she and Jenna go way back — mainly as nemeses. Once Jenna meets Darcy’s son Eric Combs (Keith Powers), the two cannot stay away from each other, and it’s only after they kiss that Jenna learns Eric is Darcy’s son.
“I loved the old villains of 90s nighttime soaps, so I would say that that kind of started there, but I also wanted people to be treated to her humanity as well,” Torres told TheWrap. “That she just wasn’t this two-dimensional villain that wanted to make Jenna’s life miserable that...
- 7/2/2023
- by Dessi Gomez
- The Wrap
Note: The following contains spoilers for “The Perfect Find” ending.
“The Perfect Find” director Numa Perrier isn’t sure the film would have been made had the original ending of Tia William’s 2016 novel stayed intact.
In the Netflix adaptation of Williams’ book Jenna Jones (Gabrielle Union) and Eric Combs (Keith Powers) fall in love, but their age gap presents challenges. Jenna, 40, wants to get married and have a family, but Eric, 22, just graduated from the University of Southern California with a master’s in film, eager to start his career. The fact that Eric’s mother Darcy (Gina Torres) technically brought them together by hiring them at her magazine only complicates things. A few months after they separate, deciding that their timing doesn’t work out to be together, Jenna asks Eric to meet up to tell him that she’s pregnant.
In Williams’ book, Jenna has her child...
“The Perfect Find” director Numa Perrier isn’t sure the film would have been made had the original ending of Tia William’s 2016 novel stayed intact.
In the Netflix adaptation of Williams’ book Jenna Jones (Gabrielle Union) and Eric Combs (Keith Powers) fall in love, but their age gap presents challenges. Jenna, 40, wants to get married and have a family, but Eric, 22, just graduated from the University of Southern California with a master’s in film, eager to start his career. The fact that Eric’s mother Darcy (Gina Torres) technically brought them together by hiring them at her magazine only complicates things. A few months after they separate, deciding that their timing doesn’t work out to be together, Jenna asks Eric to meet up to tell him that she’s pregnant.
In Williams’ book, Jenna has her child...
- 7/1/2023
- by Dessi Gomez
- The Wrap
Gabrielle Union’s Jenna Jones stumbles upon a forbidden love in more ways than one in the Netflix adaptation of Tia Williams’ book “The Perfect Find.”
Shortly after landing a job under her old fashion world nemesis Darcy Hale (Gina Torres), Jenne meets Eric Combs (Keith Powers) at a party and kisses him. She learns the next day that Eric is Darcy’s 22-year-old son as well as her new coworker at Darzine, Darcy’s fashion magazine. Jenna has just entered her forties, so the age gap between the two of them is glaring.
“Jenna’s focus was basically self-love in a nutshell, but when every way that you validate yourself is taken from you, and you have to figure out who the hell you are and what you do want what you don’t want, ‘What is joy to you, has it changed?’” Union told TheWrap. “Once she gets on that path,...
Shortly after landing a job under her old fashion world nemesis Darcy Hale (Gina Torres), Jenne meets Eric Combs (Keith Powers) at a party and kisses him. She learns the next day that Eric is Darcy’s 22-year-old son as well as her new coworker at Darzine, Darcy’s fashion magazine. Jenna has just entered her forties, so the age gap between the two of them is glaring.
“Jenna’s focus was basically self-love in a nutshell, but when every way that you validate yourself is taken from you, and you have to figure out who the hell you are and what you do want what you don’t want, ‘What is joy to you, has it changed?’” Union told TheWrap. “Once she gets on that path,...
- 6/24/2023
- by Dessi Gomez
- The Wrap
Romantic comedies on Netflix are a genre of their own. Here, a boy meets a girl, and after a little hardship in the middle of the movie, things fall into place, and they get a happy ending. The formula has remained largely unchanged since Notting Hill, when Julia Roberts’ starlet character fell in love with the dorky but charming Hugh Grant’s bookstore owner character. However, the audience still returns to romantic comedies simply because of the comforting feeling these movies bring us and also because of the celebration of love they so wholesomely display. Numa Perrier’s latest romantic comedy on Netflix follows this formula to a T and still manages to appeal to a wide audience. Starring Gabrielle Union and Keith Powers in the lead roles, the movie talks about a 40-year-old fashion designer who falls in love with a handsome young film studies graduate. Are Jenna and...
- 6/24/2023
- by Indrayudh Talukdar
- Film Fugitives
Netflix’s new rom-com “The Perfect Find” isn’t short on great music. The original film stars Gabrielle Union and Keith Powers as Jenna Jones and Eric Combs as well as Gina Torres, who plays Darcy Hale. Jenna’s journey back into fashion comes at a price — begging her old nemesis for a job at her fashion magazine Darzine. Jenna also puts herself back out there for love, and she finds a real connection with Eric — until she realizes he’s Darcy’s son.
The film adaptation of Tia Williams’ novel contains a great soundtrack of music by Black artists. The soundtrack complements references to Nina Mae McKinney, Aretha Franklin and more, and strides between older hits from past decades and modern singles that are popular in the present day to capture the full spectrum of art.
Here are all the songs in Netflix’s “The Perfect Find”:
Also...
The film adaptation of Tia Williams’ novel contains a great soundtrack of music by Black artists. The soundtrack complements references to Nina Mae McKinney, Aretha Franklin and more, and strides between older hits from past decades and modern singles that are popular in the present day to capture the full spectrum of art.
Here are all the songs in Netflix’s “The Perfect Find”:
Also...
- 6/23/2023
- by Dessi Gomez
- The Wrap
Based on Tia Williams’ 2016 novel, Netflix’s “The Perfect Find” tells a story of fashion, found family and new love. In the film, Jenna Jones (Gabrielle Union) writes a new chapter for herself at the age of 40 after a bad breakup and a public firing. Meeting Eric Combs (Keith Powers) brings her to question the true idea of a soulmate, which she wasn’t expecting to find in a man almost 20 years her junior.
The creative juices flow as Jenna and Eric bond over their project for Darzine, the fashion magazine owned by Eric’s mother and Jenna’s boss Darcy Hale (Gina Torres), a formidable woman with great hustle and ambition. Many iconic celebrities pop up here and there throughout the film, and author Tia Williams even has a cameo.
Here are the cast and characters of “The Perfect Find:”...
The creative juices flow as Jenna and Eric bond over their project for Darzine, the fashion magazine owned by Eric’s mother and Jenna’s boss Darcy Hale (Gina Torres), a formidable woman with great hustle and ambition. Many iconic celebrities pop up here and there throughout the film, and author Tia Williams even has a cameo.
Here are the cast and characters of “The Perfect Find:”...
- 6/23/2023
- by Dessi Gomez
- The Wrap
‘The Perfect Find’ Review: Gabrielle Union and Keith Powers Charm in Fashion-Forward Netflix Swooner
Fashionista Jenna Jones (Gabrielle Union) took quite the tumble from her position in New York’s world of style. In “The Perfect Find” — Netflix’s visually vibrant, cinema-loving, if not quite perfect, rom-com — her professional and romantic plummet is documented in opening credits that cleverly use an animated collage to relate her story.
So, when we meet Jenna in person ,she’s without a job, and her man (D.B. Woodside) of 10 years has moved on … or so it seems. The 40-year-old is sporting baggy sweats, and not because she’s headed to the gym. She’s been living in her parents’ home licking her wounds, for a year, when her mother calls her out on it. The scene between mother (Janet Hubert) and grown-ass daughter is amusing and promising. As are the musical and visual choices director Numa Perrier makes that evoke Old Hollywood in a film with characters decidedly not Old Hollywood.
So, when we meet Jenna in person ,she’s without a job, and her man (D.B. Woodside) of 10 years has moved on … or so it seems. The 40-year-old is sporting baggy sweats, and not because she’s headed to the gym. She’s been living in her parents’ home licking her wounds, for a year, when her mother calls her out on it. The scene between mother (Janet Hubert) and grown-ass daughter is amusing and promising. As are the musical and visual choices director Numa Perrier makes that evoke Old Hollywood in a film with characters decidedly not Old Hollywood.
- 6/20/2023
- by Lisa Kennedy
- Variety Film + TV
When Gabrielle Union-Wade turned 50 last October, the veteran actor and producer experienced a personal transformation, which has also filtered into her latest work. This era of her career, she says, is about embracing the possibilities.
“Whatever I thought that my dreams were, I was making them small,” Union-Wade told Variety at the American Black Film Festival (ABFF). “Turning 50 is about making things bigger by expanding the idea of what the possibilities could even be.”
Union-Wade debuted two projects at ABFF: the Netflix rom-com “The Perfect Find” and the BET+ docuseries “My Journey to 50,” which chronicled her birthday pilgrimage to Africa. She celebrated the BET+ series first, hosting a private bowling and ice-skating bash at the Miami Beach Edition on June 15, the same night the doc began streaming.
In a quick speech, Union-Wade thanked guests for joining her in her “second hometown” of Miami. “Wade County, baby!” she shouted out, referencing...
“Whatever I thought that my dreams were, I was making them small,” Union-Wade told Variety at the American Black Film Festival (ABFF). “Turning 50 is about making things bigger by expanding the idea of what the possibilities could even be.”
Union-Wade debuted two projects at ABFF: the Netflix rom-com “The Perfect Find” and the BET+ docuseries “My Journey to 50,” which chronicled her birthday pilgrimage to Africa. She celebrated the BET+ series first, hosting a private bowling and ice-skating bash at the Miami Beach Edition on June 15, the same night the doc began streaming.
In a quick speech, Union-Wade thanked guests for joining her in her “second hometown” of Miami. “Wade County, baby!” she shouted out, referencing...
- 6/19/2023
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
If Mandy Moore's pregnancy portraits are any indication, then she's going to have one stylish baby boy. On Friday, Jan. 15, the mom-to-be shared a look at her photography session with Jenna Jones on Instagram. She captioned the black and white picture, "Almost there." The This Is Us actress shared additional photos of herself in a Monique Lhuillier gown and a Jonathan Simkhai little black dress on her Instagram Story, where she referred to her son as "Bbg." It's clear that Mandy cannot wait to finally meet her little one. In her 2020 People's Choice Award acceptance speech, she said, "To the love of my life, Taylor, I'm so excited...
- 1/16/2021
- E! Online
Exclusive: Keith Powers will co-star opposite Gabrielle Union in The Perfect Find, the Netflix/AGC Studios romantic comedy directed by Jezebel helmer Numa Perrier.
The pic is based on the 2016 book by Tia Williams bestseller, which was adapted for the screen by Leigh Davenport. Union stars as Jenna Jones, who is hopeful that her new job in beauty journalism will be a fresh start in her life. She soon learns that her new boss, Darcy, is her frenemy. Jenna starts a relationship with the company’s videographer, Eric, and things get complicated when she learns he’s Darcy’s son.
Union is also producing the film under her I’ll Have Another banner along with Jeff Morrone, Tommy Oliver, and Codie Elaine Oliver of Confluential Films. AGC’s Stuart Ford and Glendon Palmer will serve as exec producers with I’ll...
The pic is based on the 2016 book by Tia Williams bestseller, which was adapted for the screen by Leigh Davenport. Union stars as Jenna Jones, who is hopeful that her new job in beauty journalism will be a fresh start in her life. She soon learns that her new boss, Darcy, is her frenemy. Jenna starts a relationship with the company’s videographer, Eric, and things get complicated when she learns he’s Darcy’s son.
Union is also producing the film under her I’ll Have Another banner along with Jeff Morrone, Tommy Oliver, and Codie Elaine Oliver of Confluential Films. AGC’s Stuart Ford and Glendon Palmer will serve as exec producers with I’ll...
- 12/16/2020
- by Amanda N'Duka
- Deadline Film + TV
Production scheduled to commence in 2019.
Gabrielle Union will star in rom-com The Perfect Find, which Agc Studios will finance, and produce alongside the actor and her production company I’ll Have Another, Jeff Morrone, and Tommy Oliver and Codie Elaine Oliver for Confluential Films.
The project is based on the book by Tia Williams that Leigh Davenport is adapting.
The Perfect Find tells of beauty journalist Jenna Jones (Union) who takes the only job available to her at a magazine where her boss is her frenemy, Darcy.
As Jenna struggles to keep up with her hip co-workers while keeping her boss happy,...
Gabrielle Union will star in rom-com The Perfect Find, which Agc Studios will finance, and produce alongside the actor and her production company I’ll Have Another, Jeff Morrone, and Tommy Oliver and Codie Elaine Oliver for Confluential Films.
The project is based on the book by Tia Williams that Leigh Davenport is adapting.
The Perfect Find tells of beauty journalist Jenna Jones (Union) who takes the only job available to her at a magazine where her boss is her frenemy, Darcy.
As Jenna struggles to keep up with her hip co-workers while keeping her boss happy,...
- 11/6/2018
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Gabrielle Union is set to star in the romantic comedy “The Perfect Find,” based on a novel by “The Accidental Diva” author Tia Williams.
Agc Studios will finance and produce the project alongside Union and her production banner I’ll Have Another, the content studio announced on Tuesday.
“The Perfect Find” is the story of Jenna Jones (Union) who, desperate to have a fresh start in the world of beauty journalism, takes the only job available to her at a magazine where her boss is her frenemy, Darcy. Jenna finds herself struggling to keep up with her younger and more social media savvy co-workers while keeping Darcy happy. When Jenna starts a relationship with the company’s new videographer Eric, she thinks her life is finally turning around – until she finds out that Eric is Darcy’s son.
Also Read: 'Breaking In' Signals the Rise of Gabrielle Union...
Agc Studios will finance and produce the project alongside Union and her production banner I’ll Have Another, the content studio announced on Tuesday.
“The Perfect Find” is the story of Jenna Jones (Union) who, desperate to have a fresh start in the world of beauty journalism, takes the only job available to her at a magazine where her boss is her frenemy, Darcy. Jenna finds herself struggling to keep up with her younger and more social media savvy co-workers while keeping Darcy happy. When Jenna starts a relationship with the company’s new videographer Eric, she thinks her life is finally turning around – until she finds out that Eric is Darcy’s son.
Also Read: 'Breaking In' Signals the Rise of Gabrielle Union...
- 11/6/2018
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
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