Michael Brown made headlines around the nation when he was gunned down in Ferguson, Mo., by white police officer Darren Wilson back in August 2014. He was just 18. His extrajudicial death – a tipping point in race relations in contemporary America – gave rise to the Black Lives Matter movement, and now Warner Bros. is allegedly developing a project to help bring his story to Hollywood screens.
The Root reports that Warner Bros. has acquired the rights to “Tell the Truth & Shame the Devil: The Life, Legacy, and Love of My Son Michael Brown,” a memoir co-written by Brown’s mother, Lezley McSpadden and novelist, Lyah Beth LeFlore. Insiders say Warner Bros. won the rights in a bid against several other studios looking to make a movie about the shooting. Now, a writer of color-for-hire on the culturally significant and racially sensitive topic is next on the to-do list.
What’s more, according to Tracking Board, the film based on Brown’s shooting is being developed akin to Oscar-winning motion pic, Crash (2005).
If you recall, Brown was not armed during the shooting, and witnesses maintain that he had his hands up in the air when he was pierced with several bullets, ultimately ending his life. A St. Louis grand jury did not indict Wilson, and the U.S. Department of Justice determined that said witnesses were not credible.