It's been a long time coming for Paul Greengrass and his Martin Luther King Jr. biopic, Memphis. The film had looked like his next project after publicly leaving the 'Bourne' franchise, and Universal had even set a release date for around MLK's birthday in 2012. But then the MLK estate started to haggle over parts of the plot, which involved King's possible infidelity, and the studio decided to just shut the whole thing down. A few months later it began to see signs of life as new financiers came aboard, and now it's full speed ahead with Forest Whitaker taking on the role of the civil rights leader.
Whitaker will play Martin Luther King Jr. in the docudrama, which Greengrass plans to shoot in the grounded, realistic style as his United 93. The film will follow the last few days in King's life, a tumultous time in 1968 where he was dealing with the plight of black sanitations workers; facing scrutiny from the President for his Vietnam War stance; and dealing with constant claims of extramarital affairs. The story will be juxtaposed by the search for King's assassin, James Earl Ray. Memphis was also the place where King gave his most famous "Mountaintop" speech, so hopefully we'll get to see Greengrass recreate that iconic moment.
This is another prominent role for Whitaker, who is already starring in one major civil rights-themed film with Lee Daniels' The Butler. He doesn't look anything like King physically, but Whitaker's pretty good at melting into any part he undertakes. For Greengrass, Memphis will be the next film on his slate after Captain Phillips finishes up what is expected to be an Oscar run.[TheWrap]
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