Pharrell Williams and Michel Gondry are two artists who’ve never been afraid to colour outside their medium’s lines. The former is a maverick, multi
Pharrell Williams and Michel Gondry are two artists who’ve never been afraid to colour outside their medium’s lines. The former is a maverick, multi-hyphenate beatmaker who’s blurred the lines between hip-hop, pop, dance, and rock music over a career spanning three decades and a LEGO life story; the latter is a one-of-a-kind visualist, the man behind anti-romance sci-fi classic Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, cult comedy Be Kind Rewind, and a plethora of music videos for artists like Björk, Foo Fighters, and Pharrell faves Daft Punk. Next year, the energetic duo’s worlds are set to collide on Golden, a coming-of-age movie starring Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Halle Bailey that’s set to take viewers back to Virginia Beach circa 1977, a time — and a place — where creativity and inspiration was in the air.
For proud Virginian Pharrell Williams, having told his own life story on screen this year with Piece By Piece, heading back to Virginia Beach with Golden represents a chance to step out of the limelight and celebrate his roots. “Piece By Piece is about my life, whereas Golden is about a neighbourhood that I grew up in,” says Pharrell, speaking to Empire for our 2025 Ultimate Preview issue. “This is very different. It’s a musical expedition, set in the summer of 1977 in Virginia Beach, Virginia, with the spirit of the music [of that time]. You know how in Dirty Dancing and Grease, the music was almost a character? That’s what it’s like in this film. It’s a coming-of-age story about self-discovery and pursuing your dreams, but it’s so much more magical than that. It’s a celebration of Black life, Black culture, and most importantly, Black joy.”
Originally, as Empire learns from Pharrell, his and Gondry’s movie was going to be called Atlantis — a title that nods to the name of the housing development the music mogul grew up on, Atlantis Apartments, as well as to the magical lens through which he still sees the place. So what gives with the Golden title change? “It just speaks to the narrative, the area, the energy and literally everything about [the film, which is] this analysis of what being “golden” is,” Pharrell explains. “Children and grown-ups with inner children within them can connect to it and realise that there’s a golden aspect to them too, whether it’s realised or latent.” It sounds like Pharrell and Michel’s first collab has everything it needs to shine — Virginia Beach, here we come!
Read more about Golden in Empire’s Ultimate 2025 Preview, led by Andor Season 2, in the January 2025 issue. Pre-order a copy online here. Golden — which is set to star Da’vine Joy Randolph, Brian Tyree Henry, Quinta Brunson, Janelle Monáe, Anderson. Paak, and Missy Elliott alongside Harrison Jr. and Bailey — is set to release in cinemas in 2025.
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