Samuel L. Jackson & Daveed Diggs Set For Hitman Thriller From Director Ernest Dickerson; WME Independent Launching For EFM
EXCLUSIVE: Samuel L. Jackson (The Piano Lesson) and Daveed Diggs (Nickel Boys) are set to star in a new hitman thriller from filmmaker Ernest Dickerson (Juice) and Gringo scribe Matthew Stone.
Vincent Newman (Maggie Moore(s)) is producing the currently untitled project, which Contentious Media will finance.
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WME Independent is handling international sales. Fifth Season, CAA Media Finance and Contentious Media will handle North America.
In a part written specifically for him by Stone, screen icon Jackson plays Morris Stokes, a recently retired and very opinionated hitman for mob boss Easy-A. The synopsis reads: “When his nephew Leslie (Diggs), is implicated in the theft of the mob’s earnings, Morris gets a call from his old boss that forces him off the golf course and back into action to negotiate one last job: he’s got the weekend to to help the kid recover the stolen money or put a bullet in him. Complicating things is the fact that Leslie has a baby on the way.
“Morris drags Leslie around town trying to clean up his mess, and pontificating on life’s lessons while dispensing some street justice. But Morris is more than a big talker. Get on his bad side and you’ll find out what trouble is. And when the mob goes back on their word, Morris is forced to remind them how he earned his reputation as the baddest mother**cker in the business.”
Dickerson is well known for his film and TV work, including many collaborations with Spike Lee as his DoP. Oscar winner Jackson most recently starred in Netflix’s The Piano Lesson. Snowpiercer and Star Trek: Prodigy actor Diggs, also a singer-songwriter who won a Tony for his work on Hamilton, is coming off two-time Oscar nominee Nickel Boys.
Jackson said today: “I am excited to be working with Ernest, who couldn’t be more suited to bring this character to life. Every time I read the script, I like it even more and I see something new that makes me love my character even more. He’s got an old school code and he’s loyal, but when it comes down to it, Morris looks out for himself and that’s it. And now he’s getting on in years and all he wants to do is be left alone and play golf. But then ultimately, at the end of his days, he’s visited by grace and unexpectedly finds meaning in sacrificing himself for someone else: his nephew and his nephew’s child.”
Jackson is represented by CAA, Anonymous Content, and Jackoway Austen. Diggs is represented by CAA, Brookside, and Johnson Shapiro. Stone is represented by WME and Nelson Davis Law. Dickerson is represented by Paradigm, Untitled Entertainment and Hansen, Jacobsen.
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