Nigerian American Rick Famuyiwa and Academy Award Winner Forest Whitaker Team Up for "Dope"

Indiewire's Shadow and Act reports that Nigerian American Rick Famuyiwa is teaming up with one of his Our Family Wedding stars, the famous Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker to produce his new film Dope.

Whitaker won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA for his unforgettable portrayal of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the 2006 film The Last King of Scotland.

Whitaker's Significant Productions (along with partner Nina Yang Bongiovi), as well as Pharrell Williams are all producing the film, which Famuyiwa has written and will direct, with a summer 2014 production start date eyed, in Los Angeles.

Dope's synopsis reads:

Malcolm Adekanbi is an anomaly, a "geek living in the bottoms," the drug-infested, gang-run ghetto part of Inglewood. A victim of circumstance, but with admirable ambition, Malcolm gets caught in the crossfires of a drug buy gone bad. Using his wits and considerable smarts, he manages to take a dicey situation and make it work in his favor.

Read more on http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/rick-famuyiwa-the-wood-brown-sugar-teams-up-w-forest-whitaker-for-dramedy-dope

About Rick Famuyiwa

Rick Famuyiwa, born on June 18, 1973, is an emerging Nigerian American Hollywood writer and director of films such as The Wood (1999), Talk To Me (2007), and Brown Sugar (2002). His most recent film is the comedy Our Family Wedding (2010), starring Forest Whitaker and America Ferrera. Famuyiwa’s films mainly explore themes of racial diversity and acceptance of oneself and others, especially within communities of color. In the majority of Famuyiwa’s films, friendship plays a central role to the characters’ development and progression throughout the film. Additionally, thus far, nearly all of Famuyiwa’s feature films have dealt with the institution of marriage in one form or another. It is helpful to note also that Rick Famuyiwa’s upbringing in the racially eclectic Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood has had a tremendous impact on his cinematic works and point of view as both an individual and artist.

Famuyiwa is a graduate of the University of Southern California (USC) and has Bachelor of Arts degrees in Cinematic Arts Film & Television Production and Cinematic Arts Critical Studies, both granted by the USC College of Letters, Arts & Sciences in conjunction with the School of Cinematic Arts. Rick Famuyiwa is part of the Director’s Guild of America and it is his passion to make African Americans a greater, more respected part of the cinema industry.

ORDER FOR THE BEST OF RICK FAMUYIWA'S MOVIES FROM AMAZON

Tweet