It’s been a year since Lee Daniels dropped "Lee Daniels’ The Butler," and he’s yet to make a move on his next feature. For the moment, his eye is on the Fox hip hop drama pilot "Empire" which is in post-production, but the filmmaker is putting another movie into the Crock-pot and letting it simmer.
THR reports that Daniels has signed up to direct "The Brian Banks Story," which, as you might guess, is about Brian Banks. But who is this person? Well, Banks was a star football player on track for what many expected would be an amazing sports career, until he was accused by a classmate of rape. Banks plead "no contest" to the charge on the advice of his lawyer who thought he wouldn’t stand a chance with a jury, spending five years in jail. Banks maintained his innocence and details later emerged completely exonerating the football player of any wrongdoing. He has since gone on to play one season for the Atlanta Falcons, but was let go last year.
But really, this is a story about injustice, the American legal system, race and so much more, and it seems right in the wheelhouse for someone like Daniels. But it’s long way off, with a writer still needing to be sought to give the movie a script. So until more news arrives, here’s the "60 Minutes" segment on the Banks case.
