Michael B. Jordan gave one of 2013’s best performances in Fruitvale Station, Destin Cretton directed one of that year’s best films in Short Term 12, and now the two are teaming up for an adaptation of “Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption“, the memoir of civil rights lawyer and Equal Justice Initiative founder Bryan Stevenson. The film is set up at Broad Green Pictures, which recently acquired Terrence Malick‘s Knight of Cups for distribution.
[amz asin=”0812994523″ size=”small”]”We are privileged to bring Bryan’s memoir to the world as a major motion picture,” the studio announced in a press release. “Destin is such a collaborative, thoughtful, and talented filmmaker, he is going to inspire the world with this powerful true story.”
Cretton and Andrew Lanham (The Glass Castle) will write the script for Just Mercy, which follows world-renowned civil rights defense attorney Stevenson (Jordan) as he recounts his experiences and details the case of a condemned death row prisoner whom he fought to free. The true story is one of redemption, passion and mercy set against a backdrop of a corrupt judicial system which favors the death penalty and targets the poor.
“Bryan’s story hit me harder than anything I’ve read in a long time,” says Cretton. “I’m humbled and honored to have the opportunity to bring his story to the screen.”
Given its upstart nature I’m not familiar with Broad Green Pictures, but as a fan of both Jordan’s and Cretton’s output and having listening to Stevenson’s TED talk (which you can check out below) I’m very interested to see what comes of this.
