The 'Old Town Road' Music Video Director Is Taking Over The 'House Party' Remake

Calmatic is the latest music video director to make the move to feature film directing. Fresh off his nomination for video of the year at the MTV VMA's for Lil Nas X's wildly popular "Old Town Road," Calmatic has been tapped to direct New Line's remake of House Party, the 1990 teen comedy starring Kid and Play of the popular hip hop duo Kid 'n Play. Calmatic will be working as the House Party remake director in collaboration with LeBron James, who is developing the film through his SpringHill Entertainment banner.Collider broke the news that Calmatic has been tapped as the House Party remake director by New Line. The director is best known for directing the viral sensation "Old Town Road," which has racked up more than 327 million views on YouTube. Calmatic also directed the video for Anderson Paak's "Bubblin" and has worked with artists ranging from Kendrick Lamar to Lizzo, but House Party will be his feature film debut.

Calmatic will direct a script written by Stephen Glover and Jamal Olori of Atlanta fame. LeBron James is collaborating with New Line to remake the new House Party and is set to produce with his SpringHill partner Maverick Carter. Spencer Beighley and Jamal Henderson will oversee the House Party remake for SpringHill.

The new House Party remake is based on the 1990 comedy directed by Reginald Hudlin and starring Kid 'N Play as two teens who decide to throw — you guessed it — a house party. The film co-starred a young Martin Lawrence and Tisha Campbell-Martin before they co-starred in the popular '90s sitcom Martin, and became a cult sensation. Despite only being released on 520 screens, House Party went on to gross $26 million at the domestic box office.

Here is the synopsis for the original House Party:

Play's parents are out of town, and he's planning the house party to end all house parties. His best friend, Kid, wants to go more than anything, knowing Sydney (Tisha Campbell-Martin), the hottest girl in school, is sure to be there. But when Kid gets into a fight at school, his father grounds him. Still determined to go, Kid sneaks out of the house and faces one calamity after another as he makes his way to Play's house and the party of the school year.

While it seems like James and New Line tapped Calmatic based on his work on a mega-viral video, many music video directors have made the successful leap to feature films. The most famous being, of course, David Fincher, but more recent directors have found success as well, including Daniels with Swiss Army Man and Carlos López Estrada with Blindspotting.