TV & Film | Entertainment News
Billy Porter has been attached to star in and produce a biopic depicting the life of famed writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin.
In addition to portraying Baldwin, Porter, and Dan McCabe are set to write the film's script.
“As a Black queer man on this planet with relative consciousness, I find myself, like James Baldwin said, ‘in a rage all the time.’ I am because James was. I stand on James Baldwin’s shoulders, and I intend to expand his legacy for generations to come,” Porter said in a statement.
D.J. Gugenheim of Porter’s production company Incognegro Productions joins Allen Media Group Motion Pictures’s CEO Byron Allen, Carolyn Folks, Jennifer Lucas, Matthew Signer, and Chris Charalambous being tapped as executive producers.
“Billy Porter and Dan McCabe’s talent and commitment to amplifying James Baldwin’s legacy and contributions are invaluable and unmatched for this unique and epic story,” said Allen in a statement.
The basis of the film is set to be inspired by the 1994 book, “James Baldwin: A Biography. Written by Baldwin’s close friend and former assistant David Leeming.
Throughout literary history, Baldwin has been lauded as one of the greatest writers of the last century with many of his works continuing to reach new audiences. Themes that often appeared in Baldwin's work include classism, racism in America, and sexual orientation.
In 2018 a film adaptation of his book “ If Beale Street Could Talk” was nominated for three Academy Awards. Following his debut in Broadway’s Miss Saigon in 1991, Porter has entertained audiences on stage, in film, and on television.
In 2019, Porter made history as the first openly gay Black man to win in an Emmy lead acting category when he was awarded the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Pray Tell on FX’s “Pose”.
Gayes, are you excited to see Billy play the legendary James Baldwin?