Netflix has acquired the rights to director Anthony Mandler’s drama Monster (formerly titled All Rise) starring Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls) and Kelvin Harrison Jr. (The Trial of the Chicago 7), according to The Hollywood Reporter. The film first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2018.
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The movie follows a 17-year-old honor student (Harrison) from Harlem whose world comes crashing down around him when he is charged with felony murder.
Monster also stars Golden Globe nominee John David Washington (Tenet, BlacKkKlansman), Golden Globe winner Jeffrey Wright (Angels in America, Westworld), Emmy winner Jharrel Jerome (When They See Us, Moonlight), Jennifer Ehle (Zero Dark Thirty), Tim Blake Nelson (Watchmen), Nasier “Nas” Jones, and Rakim Mayers aka rapper A$AP Rocky.
Written by Colen C. Wiley, Janece Shaffer, and Radha Blank, the movie is based on the bestselling novel by Walter Dean Myers.
Pick up your copy of the novel here!
“Netflix has time and time again stood behind films with a strong social message. Helping to curate an audience and create content that is both entertaining as well as thought-provoking. I’ve always seen my film as a medium of and for change. I couldn’t think of a better platform for Monster,” said Mandler.
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BRON Studios, ToniK Productions and Get Lifted Film Co. are behind the movie, in association with Charlevoix, Red Crown, and Creative Wealth Media. Tonya Lewis Lee, Nikki Silver, Aaron L. Gilbert, Mike Jackson, and Edward Tyler Nahem produced. John Legend, Ty Stiklorius, Dan Crown, Yoni Liebling, Wright and Jones, executive produced, along with Brenda Gilbert, Steven Thibault, Brad Feinstein, Joseph F. Ingrassia, Ali Jazayeri, David Gendron, Linnea Roberts, Jason Cloth, and Richard McConnell.
