Billy Porter To Co-Write & Star In James Baldwin Biopic

Billy Porter‘s dream is coming true. He will co-write and star in a biopic about James Baldwin.

The award-winning “Pose” and “Kinky Boots” star will collaborate with Dan McCabe to script the film.

The film, set to be released under Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group Motion Pictures, will be based on the 1994 book, “James Baldwin: A Biography” by David Leeming.

Byron Allen said:

We at Allen Media Group Motion Pictures are extremely passionate about sharing James Baldwin’s phenomenal story with the world.

Billy Porter and Dan McCabe’s talent and commitment to amplifying James Baldwin’s legacy and contributions are invaluable and unmatched for this unique and epic story.

Billy Porter added:

As a Black queer man on this planet with relative consciousness I find myself, like James Baldwin said, ‘in a rage all the time.’

I am because James was. I stand on James Baldwin’s shoulders, and I intend to expand his legacy for generations to come.

About James Baldwin (via Deadline)

A gay, African American writer and civil rights activist born in Harlem who wrote critically acclaimed and influential essays, novels, plays and poems, Baldwin’s best-known works include “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” “Notes of a Native Son,” “Another Country,” “The Fire Next Time,” “Giovanni’s Room“ and “If Beale Street Could Talk.”

Lemming’s biography of Baldwin creates an intimate portrait of a complex, troubled, driven and brilliant man, plumbing every aspect of his life, including his gift for compassion and love, the public pressures that overwhelmed his quest for happiness, and his passionate battle for Black identity and racial justice.

Congrats to Billy Porter on his dream opportunity of portraying James Baldwin.

I look forward to seeing the film.

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Source: Deadline