*Dwayne Alexander Smith’s acclaimed novel “Forty Acres,” is being adapted into a film for Netflix, with “Luke Cage” creator Cheo Hodari Coker set to pen the script.
As reported by Deadline, “Forty Acres follows a civil rights attorney who must fight for survival when he’s invited to join an elite Black organization with a mind-blowing secret; the thriller is described as being a cross between The Firm and Get Out,” the outlet writes.
Hip-hop star JAY-Z will produce alongside James Lassiter, Kapital Entertainment’s Aaron Kaplan, Niles Kirchner and Bill Strauss. Executive producers are Dana Honor for Kapital, Smith and Mike Epps.
“Forty Acres” reunites Kaplan with Jay-Z and Lassiter, who teamed for the upcoming ABC limited series “Women of the Movement.”
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The six-episode series centers on Mamie Till-Mobley, who devoted her life to seeking justice for her son Emmett Till. The teenager was murdered in 1955 by white supremacists in Mississippi.
“Women of the Movement” is inspired by the book “Emmett Till: The Murder That Shocked the World and Propelled the Civil Rights Movement” by Devery S. Anderson. The series premieres in 2021.
Meanwhile, Jay-Z and Lassiter recently produced the all-Black western “The Harder They Fall” for Netflix.
Directed by Jeymes Samuel in his feature directorial debut, the film follows outlaw Nat Love (Jonathan Majors), who discovers that the man (Idris Elba) who killed his parents two decades ago is being released from prison, so he reunites with his gang to track his enemy down and seek his revenge, via Deadline.
According to Complex, “The Harder They Fall” was first pitched to companies in 2016 with Michael K. Williams, Erykah Badu, Rosario Dawson, Wesley Snipes and Jessie Williams attached. Now that Netflix has control of the project, it’s unclear if they will be involved with the feature.
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