Yahoo News ‘Freedom Ride’: Hideaway Entertainment, INDE Companies And Brooklyn Media Team With Advocate Benjamin Crump For Civil Rights Pic
The Hideaway Entertainment, INDE Companies and Brooklyn Media is teaming with civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump for the upcoming feature Freedom Ride. The film is set to begin production in summer 2021 with plans to shoot in Atlanta, Georgia and Birmingham, Alabama. The news appropriately aligns with the 55th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act — which is today!
Crump will serve as an executive producer on the film written by Steven Vosburgh and Dusdi Fissette. Freedom Ride is set in 1961 and details the actions of a multiracial group of young activists, led by twenty-year-old John Lewis as they decide to take matters into their own hands in the fight against racial discrimination and hate. After signing their own last wills and testaments, these determined Freedom Riders journeyed by bus into the deep segregated South where mob violence and police brutality against Black Americans run rampant. In the end, their refusal to back down forces the government to finally take action and desegregate all the buses, trains, public places and facilities used in interstate travel. The script is based on first-person accounts by original Freedom Riders including the late civil rights icon John Lewis.
More from Deadline
Benjamin Crump And Bron Teaming On Docuseries 'Homicide Or Justified'
Jack Reynor Joins Tom Holland In 'Cherry' From Russo Brothers
“This film is not only timely with the recent passing of Congressman John Lewis, it is timely because it will help to preserve the legacy of John Lewis for younger generations to come,” said Crump. “This story will resonate with the world today because John Lewis was an original voice for Black Lives Matter back in the 1960’s before anyone had ever contemplated a Black Lives Matter movement that lives today. This is why I felt it is so important to support and be a part of this production because it speaks to the past, the present and most certainly will speak to the future”.
“It’s such a blessing to have Ben Crump join this Ride,” said producer Kim Leadford. “Our team has always seen this film as a playbook for activists in America’s long struggle for Civil Rights. Ben, a central figure in today’s continuum of the Civil Rights Movement, will be integral in tying the past to the present as we create that impact for current and future Freedom Fighters. His love, admiration and respect for the late Congressman John Lewis, will enrichen the Congressman’s legacy through storytelling.”
Leadford (The Butler), Matthew Rhodes (Shot Caller) and Mark Harris (Crash) will produce the film. Crump will executive produce alongside Charles Bonan (The Butler) and The Hideaway Entertainment’s Jonathan Gray and Kristy Grisham.
Crump is repped by UTA and Curated By Media.
Best of Deadline
Coronavirus: Movies That Have Halted Or Delayed Production Amid Outbreak
Hong Kong Filmart Postponed Due To Coronavirus Fears; Event Moves Two Weeks Before Toronto
Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
