Simone Ashley Says Her New Rom-Com 'Picture This' Has Representation at Its Core

glamour.com:

Bridgerton star is joining the world this year, with the upcoming Amazon Prime movie Picture This. And like many women in Hollywood, she's taking charge of the stories she tells.“Growing up, I have never really seen women that looked like me in these kinds of movies," she told . "This one meant a lot to me—also because I am a part of the producing team.”Simone added that rom-coms are “making a comeback,” referencing the success of Anne Hathaway's and , starring Glen Powell and ."The world is becoming more hopeful about the idea of love and romance,” Ashley said.

A top priority was making sure all kinds of audiences would be able to relate to the story. “I think many people are going to relate to it, no matter where they are from,” she said, adding that producing movies means that she can affect change when it comes to rom-com representation and help never-before-seen love stories come to screen.When the Netflix show’s second season premieres this month, the 26-year-old actor will become a household name like Regé-Jean Page and Phoebe Dynevor before her.

So how is she handling this major life change? Remarkably well.“The more experience I have, the more I am learning that producing your own work can really change things,” she continued. “You can tell stories that otherwise would never see the light of day.”Okay, we officially can't wait.

Here's everything we know so far about Picture This.“Single and without a man on the horizon, Pia (Simone Ashley) runs a failing photography studio in London with her best friend Jay (Luke Fetherston),” the film's plot synopsis reads."As her sister Sonal (Anoushka Chadha) prepares to get married and her mother Laxmi (Sindhu Vee) urges the resolutely independent Pia to partner up, a.