Sterling K. Brown and Mark Wahlberg are set to headline By Any Means, a true-crime thriller directed by Elegance Bratton for Hammerstone Studios, Thunder Road, Freedom Principle, and North.Five.Six. The film, adapted from Sascha Penn’s Black List script CI34, recently underwent revisions by Bratton and Ted Witcher and will be presented to international buyers at AFM, represented by North.Five.Six’s Michael Rothstein and Samuel Hall.
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By Any Means follows the real-life story of a notorious mafia hitman, who, in an off-the-books arrangement with the FBI, teamed up with a young Black agent to hunt down the killers behind civil rights leaders’ murders in 1966 Mississippi.
Production is scheduled to begin in March, with Hammerstone Studios’ Alex Lebovici, Thunder Road’s Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee, and Chester Algernal Gordon for Freedom Principle on board as producers. Wahlberg will also produce under his Closest to the Hole Production banner, alongside Jonathan Oakes, Michael Rothstein, Samuel Hall, Warren Goz, and a roster of executive producers.
Brown, known for his Emmy-winning performances on This Is Us and American Crime Story, recently landed his first Oscar nomination for American Fiction. He will also appear in Hulu’s upcoming drama Paradise, created by This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman. Wahlberg, coming off roles in Arthur the King and Apple’s action-comedy The Family Plan, recently joined the sequel to The Family Plan and stars as a villain in Lionsgate’s Flight Risk, set to release on January 24.
Bratton, who gained recognition for his autobiographical film The Inspection, is known for his work on FX’s horror series Grotesquerie and the docu-series My House. His production company, Freedom Principle, co-run with producing partner Chester Algernal Gordon, adds By Any Means to its growing portfolio.