After years of excellent work, Michael K. Williams is finally starting to reap the rewards in a mainstream capacity with a recurring role on the Martin Scorsese-backed HBO series “Boardwalk Empire,” a guest spot on this season of “Community,” and more recently, a role that looks good to go in Quentin Tarantino‘s “Django Unchained” specifically written after Williams lost out the lead role to Jamie Foxx.
On the other end of the spectrum, we have Isaiah Washington, a star on one of television’s most watched shows (“Grey’s Anatomy“) who was fired after a behind-the-scenes controversy involving some slurs leveled at his co-star T.R. Knight. However different their situations, the two actors are now set to team up as both producers and stars on Life Garland‘s indie-thriller “The Suspect,” based on a script from award-winning writer Stuart Connelly.
Connelly is probably best known for co-writing “Behind the Dream: The Making of the Speech that Tranformed a Nation,” a thrilling behind-the-scenes chronicle of events leading up to MLK’s famous “I Have A Dream” speech told through the eyes of Clarence Jones, King’s close confidant and the co-writer of the speech. However, this next project finds the writer strictly in genre territory, albeit with a compelling twist. Here’s a short synopsis of ‘Suspect’ as written by Connelly himself:
Two African American social scientists pose as bank robbers in an effort to understand the racial dynamics of small-town law enforcement. However, their experiment takes an unplanned, deadly turn.
It’s a fascinating premise that could explore interesting territory. The relative inexperience of Garland and Connelly is a slight worry but we’re confident the experienced duo of Williams and Washington know what they’re getting into, and will likely bring the gravitas and experience needed to do the thematic heavy lifting. Lensing is set to begin next month. [Shadow&Act]
