Tika Sumpter set to play the First Lady in an Obama romance film

Dec 5, 2014

The search is on for an actor to play a young Barack Obama.

Southside With You, a new drama, is set to explore to day Barack Obama took his future wife, Michelle Robinson, out across Chicago’s south side for their first date. The story goes that the first year Harvard Law student fell for the beautiful, younger lawyer when he took a summer job as an associate at the firm where she worked.

During the date, they took a long walk, visited the Art Institute, and saw Spike Lee’s film Do the Right Thing. On the 25th anniversary of the movie, the president described his recollection of the date: “I took her to this new movie that everybody was talking about, directed by a guy that not that many people had heard of, but it was supposed to be pretty good.”

Richard Tanne will take this story to its height with his own screenplay. Tracey Bing, a former Warner Independent executive, and Stephanie Allain, a Columbia Pictures alumnus, will produce the movie.

Bing said of the opportunity, “Stephanie and I are excited to produce this smart and timeless film that sheds light on one of the great love stories of our time. Richard really captures the essence of that romantic connection between Barack and Michelle that is so evident in the way that they look at each other. We are looking forward to finding the perfect Barack.”

The team has their Michelle in Tika Sumpter, of Get on Up fame, but the search for an actor to portray the young future president is not yet completed.