Keke Palmer Explains Hidden Struggles Behind New Comedy Film With SZA
Keke Palmer ditched the Hollywood glamor to bond backstage with chart-topping songstress SZA before cameras rolled on their anticipated buddy-comedy “One of Them Days.”
The “Nope” and “Scream Queens” actress wasn’t just casually hanging out; she put in the extra mile to ensure their chemistry was electric.
They connected at script rehearsals in Atlanta and bonding behind-the-scenes at the 2024 Grammys just moments before SZA took the stage.
Palmer clarified her motivation to The Cut, emphasizing her dual role: “That wasn’t just me, Keke Palmer, the actress, making sure we had time to really connect,” she told the outlet. “That was me, Keke Palmer, the producer.”
“One of Them Days” sees Palmer teaming up with Grammy-winning artist SZA in her first-ever major film role.
The duo portray Dreux and Alyssa, two besties who find themselves scrambling through a wild day of misadventures, hustling to scrape together enough cash to avoid eviction.
Palmer first crossed paths with the “Kill Bill” vocalist when both appeared on “Saturday Night Live” in 2022.
Instantly recognizing SZA’s comedic chops, Palmer was determined to bring the singer onboard for her cinematic debut.
“A lot of people think musicians can’t act, but she’s just naturally hilarious,” Palmer praised. “As vulnerable and excitable and eccentric as SZA is, she also is very serious, very brilliant, and a focused person.”
The buddy flick, though now hitting screens in the U.K., wasn’t exactly an overnight success.
Palmer revealed the project spent nearly five years in development limbo, enduring four complete script rewrites along the way.
Studio execs initially pushed for more zany antics and over-the-top action, but Palmer—serving as executive producer—leveraged her influence to preserve the film’s deeper narrative about community struggles and the harsh realities of gentrification.
“I had to really be specific about what needed to change, what the jokes were going to say, what story we’re telling about where these two characters come from,” Palmer explained. “I was more than just an actor doing the role. I really cared about the project as a whole.”