June 23, 2017 - 21:06 AMT
Jennifer Lopez to topline romantic comedy “Second Act” for STX

Jennifer Lopez is returning to her romantic-comedy roots for STXfilms, The Hollywood Reporter reveals.

The Wedding Planner actress will star in and produce a new rom-com, titled Second Act, which follows a big-box store employee who, after reinventing herself, gets the chance to prove to Madison Avenue that street smarts are as valuable as a college degree. The project is pitched as Working Girl meets Maid in Manhattan.

The script was written by Justin Zackham (The Bucket List) and Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, and the project was developed specifically for Lopez. Peter Segal, whose credits include 50 First Dates and Get Smart, will direct.

Lopez, Goldsmith-Thomas and Zackham will all produce, along with Benny Medina.

"Jennifer's talents as a film and television actress, producer and recording artist are legendary," said STXfilms chairman Adam Fogelson, who made Thursday's announcement with president of production Sam Brown. "We are excited to add Second Act to an outstanding and growing portfolio of female-driven projects that we are building at STXfilms."

Said Lopez: "There are so many things I love about this project and script. People try to put women to sleep at a certain age. Second Act is a story that empowers the every-woman to do more, to be more, and not limit their dreams."

Lopez, who is also working to release a Spanish-language album, has most recently been seen on the small screen on her NBC series Shades of Blue and the competition show World of Dance. Her recent feature roles include mystery-thriller The Boy Next Door and animated pic Home.

STX will soon release Luc Besson's Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, and is in various states of production on several features, including Aaron Sorkin's Molly's Game and the franchise film A Bad Moms Christmas. The upstart studio also is developing multiple projects for leading ladies, including features with Anne Hathaway, Melissa McCarthy and Amy Schumer.