Former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett’s directing debut has lastly discovered a house: BET+ has picked up “B-Boy Blues,” which is able to debut on the streamer on June 9 in time for Pleasure Month. As a part of the pickup, Mona Scott-Younger and her Monami Leisure has joined the movie as a producer and was instrumental in getting the deal achieved with BET+.
“B-Boy Blues” reps the primary venture for Smollett since being discovered responsible of constructing false stories about what he alleged to be a hate crime. He was later sentenced to 30 months of felony probation, together with 150 days in jail, and ordered to pay a high quality for making false stories to police, following his report that he was the sufferer of a hate crime in January 2019.
“B-Boy Blues” is the movie adaptation of James Earl Hardy’s novel, and stars Timothy Richardson (“David Makes Man”), Ledisi (“Selma”), Brandee Evans (“P-Valley”), Heather B (“The Actual World”), Marquise Vilson (“Tom Swift”), Jabari Redd (“Objectives”), Broderick Hunter (“Insecure”) and Thomas Mackie.
“By way of our content material slate, we’re intentional about representing the fullness of the Black expertise, together with that of the LGBTQ+ neighborhood,” mentioned BET+ exec VP/GM Devin Griffin. “‘B-Boy Blues’ is an clever, heart-rending movie concerning the complexity of affection – one thing all of us can relate to.”
Moreover directing, Smollett wrote the script to “B-Boy Blues” with Hardy and likewise financed the movie with Cleveland-based radio broadcast investor Tom Wilson for A SuperMassive Film. EPs additionally embrace James Earl Hardy for It’s All Jood Productions, Madia Hill-Scott for Winnienoah Productions and Mona Scott-Younger and Stephanie Gayle for Monami Leisure. Frank Gatson can also be an EP.
The indie movie debuted final yr at the 2021 American Black Movie Competition, the place it received the Narrative Function Fan Favourite Award. The movie is described as “a conflict of sophistication and tradition when Mitchell Crawford, a school educated journalist from Brooklyn and Raheim Rivers, a bike messenger from Harlem, fall in love.”
A SuperMassive Film, It’s All Jood Productions and Winnienoah Productions in affiliation with Monami Leisure are behind “B-Boy Blues.”
“B-Boy Blues is a fantastically daring, humorous, heartwarming bro-mance and I used to be thrilled to accomplice with Jussie to assist this glorious movie acquire better publicity,” Younger mentioned. “Falling head over heels and combating for love are common feelings and experiences and we’re so grateful to BET+ for shining a highly effective highlight on the nonetheless severely underrepresented black LGBTQ+ neighborhood and bringing this impactful love story to a good better viewers.”
