Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart, Out of the Furnace, and Black Mass) will direct the adaptation of Hampton Sides non-fiction novel about the assassination of Black civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr.

“Set against the larger backdrop of the Civil Rights movement, the film will chronicle the terrifying collision of these two figures and the subsequent largest manhunt in FBI history. That hunt was led by J. Edgar Hoover, and led to the apprehension of prison escapee Ray before he fled the country.”

Black Label Media and John Lester will produce the film with Cooper, who also scripted the adaption.

The subject matter will sure to spark discussion, especially a discussion about who can tell this story. Currently this discussion being had about Kathryn Bigelow’s Detroit, and HBO’s Confederate. Stories about the black experience have been told by white people since the beginning of cinema.

However, this film and novel sound to be about the FBI perspective, solely following the wiretapping, assassination, and FBI investigation. Perhaps this is why there has been very little noise made about the film since it was announced on August 1.

The last major motion picture about MLK was Ava DuVernay’s Selma, released in 2015, and garnered great critical acclaim and awards. It was also nominated for Best Picture for the Academy award.

Is this a film worth making and seeing? Have you read the novel the film is based off? Reply and share your thoughts.

Source: Deadline.