Real life more and more begins to seep into the world of film and TV as truth continues to become even stranger than fiction than we imagined. The 2016 election will soon be dramatised, and following acclaimed documentary series, such as O.J.: Made In America and Making A Murderer, another real-life, highly publicised news story will make its way to our screens.
The tragic story of Trayvon Martin‘s death will be made into two separate projects. Jay-Z and The Weinstein Company have purchased the rights to two books – Suspicion Nation: The Inside Story of the Trayvon Martin Injustice And Why We Continue to Repeat It, and Rest In Power: The Enduring Life Of Trayvon Martin – and will partner up to turn them into a film and documentary series.
Both books follow the case of George Zimmerman shooting and killing Martin, with the former by Lisa Bloom covering the court case and the latter, by Martin’s parents themselves, covers Trayvon’s life and the aftermath of his death. The initial plan is for Jay-Z to produce a six part documentary series while Weinstein will make a narrative film.
The wounds are still raw from such a hurtful, highly controversial case, and while some might point to the O.J. series as reason to wait and let the societal aftermath take shape before looking back on the event, in the modern world of 24 hour news alongside a craving for high quality documentary filmmaking the urge to greenlight the series right now makes sense.
Both projects are sure to be enticing viewing, so it’s just comforting to know some well-established production teams are behind them.
#Peace.Love.TrayvonMartin
