by Anita Busch, Deadline Hollywood
BREAKING: Chadwick Boseman, who will next be seen in Disney/Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War, will star as the highly respected Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall — the first African American judge on that court — in the courtroom thriller that follows Marshall as a young lawyer through one of his career-defining cases. Reginald Hudlin is directing, beginning in Los Angeles this week before the holidays and then will resume in late spring after he completes his producing duties for the 88th Annual Academy Awards.
The film focuses on an important case in Marshall’s early career: a true incident in the young lawyer life — long before his appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court. Described like this: “As the nation teeters on the brink of WWII, a nearly bankrupt NAACP sends Marshall to conservative Connecticut to defend a black chauffeur against his wealthy socialite employer in a sexual assault and attempted murder trial that quickly became tabloid fodder. In need of a high profile victory but muzzled by a segregationist court, Marshall is partnered with Samuel Friedman, a young Jewish lawyer who has never tried a case. Marshall and Friedman struggle against a hostile storm of fear and prejudice, driven to discover the truth in the sensationalized trial which helped set the groundwork for the Civil Rights Movement to come.”
Marshall is best known probably for arguing a landmark case, however. Before he was appointed to the Supreme Court, he was a lawyer who argued before the high court (and won) in Brown vs. The Board of Education, which desegregated public schools. The late great Marshall (he died in 1993) was appointed on the U.S. Court of Appeals by President John F. Kennedy and it was the subsequent president, Lyndon Johnson who then nominated him for the U.S. Supreme Court in 1967.
Noted Hudlin in making the announcement: “Thurgood Marshall was a man who took his life in his hands every time he came to a town to bring justice. Marshall was a cowboy who used his law books as guns. He was the smartest guy in the room of any room he was in. But he wasn’t a punk and didn’t hesitate to throw a punch if the occasion called for it.
Marshall is being financed by China-based Super Hero Films, Ltd. with Paula Wagner (Mission Impossible) producing through her Chestnut Ridge Productions banner. Hudlin (Django Unchained), Jonathan Sanger (The Elephant Man), and Super Hero Films’ Jun Dong are also producing from a screenplay by trial lawyer Michael Koskoff and his son Jacob Koskoff who scripted The Weinstein Company’s Macbeth.
Serving as executive producers are Super Hero Films’ Luo, Jialing Deng, and Beely Lee.
The project is one in a slate of features financed by Super Hero Films (very appropriate for a Thurgood Marshall project), a China-based collective created by Peter Luo, CEO; Sun Li Li, the principal of China Wit Media Co., Ltd.; Pan Lai, the principal of Hero Film, Ltd.; and Xu Yan the principal of Star Light Media Co., Ltd.
The film is being produced with the full support of the Thurgood Marshall and Samuel Friedman estates, including their children, John W. Marshall and Lauren Friedman.
Boseman is repped by Michael Greene of Greene & Associates and Management 360. Hudlin and the film are represented by CAA. Ken Kleinberg of Kleinberg Lange represented Wagner.
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By Jodi Guglielmi, People
When Academy Awards co-producer Reginald Hudlin first read the script for the upcoming biopic Marshall, based on Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, he jumped at the opportunity to sign on as director.
“I’ve always been a huge Thurgood Marshall fan,” Hudlin, 54, tells PEOPLE of his decision to direct the film. “He is a man who made America fulfill its promise of being a great nation. He’s one of our country’s greatest heroes because he’s a fighter for justice – it’s an important story to tell.”
The late Marshall was the first African-American judge to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. And while he may be best known as the lawyer who fought for racial equality and found victory in the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education, Hudlin says that’s not the part of Marshall’s life the film focuses on.
“This script popped out to me because it wasn’t the story that we’ve heard before,” explains Hudlin.
Marshall focuses on an important case in the Supreme Court justice’s early career. In the film, Marshall defends a black chauffeur accused of sexual assault and attempted murder by his wealthy employer. Marshall is teamed up with a Jewish lawyer who has never tried a case before, and together, they fight for justice in a trail that would later help lay the groundwork for the civil rights movement.
Hudlin says the film’s message is more relevant than ever today.
“Our country is going through a lot of transition. There is a lot of debate over American values,” he says. “The suspect [in the film] is not a perfect citizen. He is a guy with a checkered past – but that doesn’t mean that you committed the crime. People today want to take shortcuts. But Thurgood Marshall worked his entire life to prove that there is no shortcut to justice.”
Chadwick Boseman (Captain America: Civil War) will star as the respected Supreme Court justice.
Marshall isn’t the only historical figure Boseman has portrayed on-screen. He also played Jackie Robinson in the film 42 in 2013, and James Brown in 2014’s Get on Up. It was Boseman’s experience playing such legends that made him an easy choice for Hudlin to cast.
“He’s such a chameleon and can do so much as an actor,” says Hudlin. “But Thurgood is still a kind of character that he has never had the opportunity to play. We talked a lot about who Thurgood is as a person.”
“I’m excited to see where he goes with it,” Hudlin adds.
Marshall begins production in Los Angeles next week.
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by Mia Galuppo, The Hollywood Reporter
The director-producer, who is co-producing the upcoming Academy Awards, will be honored at the 7th AAFCA Awards.
The African American Film Critics Association will honor veteran film and television director Reginald Hudlin at the 7th AAFCA Awards, which are set to take place Feb. 10 at the Tagylan complex in Hollywood.
Hudlin, the former president of the BET network, will receive the AAFCA’s inaugural “Salute to Excellence Award” for his decades-spanning work on such projects as House Party and Boomerang.
He was nominated for an Oscar for producing 2012’s Django Unchained, and this year he will return to the ceremony as the co-producer of the upcoming 88th Academy Awards broadcast.
“AAFCA selected Reggie as the first recipient of the ‘Salute to Excellence Award’ because of his track record of excellence in the entertainment industry,” says AAFCA president Gil Robertson. “As a creative force, he continues to provide a great example of advancement for the current and next generation of African-Americans in the entertainment community.”
The association also announced that Entertainment Tonight correspondent Nischelle Turner will make her second appearance as the award show’s host.
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The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences kicks off the Hollywood Award season with the Governor’s Awards, where they give honorary Oscars to legendary and overlooked talent. I produced the show last year, and as one of the producers of the Oscars this year, I had to attend. Not that it was a chore! It’s a fun night and made even nicer since my friend Julie Lynn was doing the show this year.
Me and Academy President Dawn Hudson. She’s originally from Hot Springs Arkansas, just like my dad! We’ve come a long way, baby!
Will Smith photobombs our picture. A superstar in every medium, and one of the nicest guys in the industry.
Ted Sarandos of Netflix, also one of the nicest guys in town.
My wife and I enjoying the evening, as Gena Rowlands looks over us all.
Me and Danny Boyle, an amazing director.
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