Spike Lee to Direct KKK Thriller ‘Black Klansman’ with Jordan Peele to Produce
It seems for the past two years Get Out director Jordan Peele, and Hollywood icon Spike Lee have been quietly working on a thriller based on Ron Stallworth’s autobiography of the same name. Jordan Peele is one of the hottest names in Hollywood right now fresh off the release of his explosive directorial debut, Get Out, and Spike Lee is an influential artist in the field of his own right.
Ron Stallworth with his autobiography.
The news comes from THR, who have also announced that Ballers‘s John David Washington is currently in talks to star in the film. The book, Black Klansman, released in 2014 and it seems Lee and Peele quickly picked up the cinematic potential of the autobiography and have been setting their plans in motion since shortly after its release. The current screenplay credits are Spike Lee himself, as well as Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, and Kevin Willmont. Jordan Peele will be producing the film through his company Monkeypaw Productions.
Ron Stallworth’s autobiography tells the story of his experience infiltrating the KKK by means of an undercover investigation in 1978. Stallworth posed as a white supremacist through means of communication such as a phone, where he could not be visually seen and was able to join the Colorado Springs chapter. He even had a fellow white officer pose as himself for matters concerning direct, physical communication and Stallworth eventually rose to leader of the Colorado Springs chapter. Using his undercover status as their leader, Stallworth was able to sabotage the KKK in many of their efforts.
Black Klansman is an extraordinarily unique and quite unbelievable story that many have obviously not heard of, so this is exciting news to hear and I hope for the best in the production of this story. The collaboration of Spike Lee and Jordan Peele sounds fruitful in itself and I hope their efforts combine for high quality content.
Black Klansman is not meant to be confused by the 1966 film of similar name, The Black Klansman, about a black man joining the KKK in order to avenge the death of his daughter.
[source: THR]
