Academy-Award winner Regina King is set to make her directorial film debut with the adaption of Kemp Powers’ play, One Night In Miami.
The performance centers around a conversation between Jim Brown, Sam Cooke, Malcolm X and 22-year-old Muhammad Ali who had not yet become a Muslim and was still Cassius Clay.
Ali’s enthusiasm due to his win against Sonny Liston was short-lived when the newly minted heavyweight boxing champ wasn’t allowed to party at several of Miami’s hotspots due to Jim Crow segregation, instead, he checked in to another hotel with the rest of the men to celebrate.
Set on Feb. 25, 1964–10 months before 33-year-old Cooke was murdered and almost a year to the date before Malcolm X’s assassination-the men were said to have had a lengthy, passionate discussion about uplifting black people.
In the play, Powers reportedly tried to double down on who they were individually what they’ve accomplished in their respective fields and how they could pool their star power, athleticism, and activism for the greater good of black Americans.
No word yet on who will play the iconic roles, when production begins and when the film will hit theaters. All we know is that Regina King is the director and that’s more than enough for us.
