By Rivea Ruff ·Updated April 12, 2023
Billy Porter is reportedly putting his talents to work to honor a cultural legend in a new Byron Allen-produced project.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the multihyphenate award-winner will pen and star in an upcoming feature based on the life and legacy of the legendary activist, cultural thought leader, author, and essayist James Baldwin.
“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,” Porter said in a statement. “I stand on James Baldwin’s shoulders, and I intend to expand his legacy for generations to come.”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 20: Billy Porter attends MGM’s “A Good Person” New York Screening at Metrograph on March 20, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Dominik Bindl/WireImage)
Porter will write the film’s script alongside frequent collaborator and playwright Dan McCabe, basing it on author David Leeming’s 1994 biographical work, James Baldwin: A Biography.
Baldwin was a Harlem-born civil rights activist and writer who focused on Black identity through the perils of racism. He is perhaps most recognized from his novels Notes of a Native Son, Go Tell It on the Mountain, If Beale Street Could Talk, and his now-infamous live debate with Nikki Giovanni on the 1960’s variety show Soul. His philosophy and work was the center of Raoul Peck’s 2016 documentary I Am Not Your Negro and his writing has gone on to inspire work like Barry Jenkins’ 2018 film If Beale Street Could Talk.
Porter will also co-produce the film through his Incognegro Productions alongside Allen’s Allen Media Group.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 02: Billy Porter arrives at the NBC’s “Carol Burnett: 90 Years Of Laughter + Love” Birthday Special at Avalon Hollywood & Bardot on March 02, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Steve Granitz/FilmMagic)
“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,” Allen said in a separate statement.
TOPICS: Billy Porter biopic Byron Allen james baldwin
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