Broad Green Pictures announced today a partnership with Imagine Entertainment to produce and distribute an untitled film about the infamous Los Angeles riots that transformed America’s perceptions on race, justice and economics, and sparked massive change in the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).
John Ridley, the Academy Award-winning 12 Years a Slave scribe and creator of the Emmy Award-winning American Crime, will direct the film from his own screenplay. Academy Award winner Brian Grazer (A Beautiful Mind, American Gangster) will produce. The film will begin principal photography in spring 2016.
In April of 1992, America’s worst civil disturbance in the 20th century took place in Los Angeles. Sparked by the acquittal of four LAPD officers tried for the near-fatal beating of black motorist Rodney King and fueled by racial tension, growing despair surrounding the economic climate, and a deep-seated distrust of law enforcement, the riots left the city devastated. Looting and fires ravaged Los Angeles for four straight days leaving more than 50 dead and 2,300 injured, an estimated $1 billion in property damage and the city divided. Based on true events, the film tells the story through the eyes of several key figures involved in the uprising and the events that led to it.
Broad Green Pictures founders CEO Gabriel Hammond and Chief Creative Officer Daniel Hammond said, “This is a seminal event in our country’s history, the reverberations of which are still far too relevant today. We were blown away by John’s amazing screenplay and we know that under his direction and the aegis of Imagine the film will be truly incredible. This is why we started this company. To make movies like this.”
“We have barely seen the tip of the iceberg in terms of John Ridley’s talent,” said Grazer. “I am confident that he will capture the magnitude of the events that unfolded and the issues that led up to them. He will show the world why the riots cannot and should not be forgotten.”
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