Lamorne Morris (New Girl) and Naturi Naughton (Power) are joining forces in filmmaker J. Lee’s new comedy Jacob Beats Up Nate. The project has wrapped filming in St. Louis and is now launching sales at the American Film Market (AFM) through Vaneast Pictures and CAA Media Finance.
The film, inspired by true events from Lee’s own high school years, follows mild-mannered family man Jacob Mann (Morris) as he returns to his St. Louis hometown to be inducted into his High School Hall of Fame — all while secretly planning to confront and finally beat up his high-school bully, Nate Tagliabu (Justin Long).
Alongside Morris, Naughton, Long, and Lee — who is also starring — the cast also includes Travis Van Winkle (Road House), Frankie Faison (Till), Penny Johnson Jerald (BLKNews: Terms and Conditions), Seth Carr (The Main Event), and newcomer Joylin Bass in her feature debut.
The project also reunited Jerald with Lee who both starred on Orville.
Jacob Beats Up Nate was filmed entirely in St. Louis, making use of Missouri’s revitalized state film incentives. According to the Missouri Film Office, $12.4 million in authorized incentives for 2024 generated $33 million in statewide production spending, with Lee’s film among the projects benefitting. The project also received a $100,000 grant from the St. Louis Regional Arts Commission.
The film is produced by J. Lee, Leon Price Jr., Lorelle Lynch, and Daniel de Boulay under their Lincoln Motion Picture Company banner, with executive producers including Lamorne Morris, Kyle Shevrin, David Steward II, Matt Heath, Michael Laundon, Pierre Romain, Julie Solinger, Lyndon Baldock, Vik Bansal, Bo Youngblood, Jon Ireradi, Dan Sheldon, Chad Oliver, DJ Dodd, Paolo Pilladi, and Randy Sinquest.
Vaneast Pictures and CAA Media Finance will handle global sales, with Jacob Beats Up Nate expected to hit theaters next summer.