Before he won an Oscar for his 12 Years A Slave screenplay, John Ridley wrote a script about the protests that took over Los Angeles in 1992 following the acquittal of the four LAPD officers who nearly beat Rodney King to death. Various directors have been attached to the untitled project, which Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer will produce, but the production stalled years ago. Now Deadline reports the project has been revived, with Ridley himself stepping in to direct.
Ridley told IndieWire in 2013 that his film would look at the April 1992 riots from the points of view of multiple residents, while also examining the broader issues of race, economic turmoil, and the distrust of a mostly-white police force held by the black citizens of Los Angeles. Most studios have shied away from the subject, but relative newcomer Broad Green Pictures (I Smile Back, Learning To Drive) is ready to back Ridley and will co-produce with Grazer. For his part, Ridley seems amply prepared to tackle the subject matter; the first season of his Emmy-nominated series, American Crime, dealt with racial tensions and class politics while telling the story of a murder and the subsequent trial.
Spike Lee was in talks to helm the film early on, but dropped out over budget concerns. Then in 2011, Deadline announced that frequent Fast And Furious collaborator Justin Lin would direct, but he’s no longer attached. There’s no word on who might star in the film, but back in August, Ice Cube and Straight Outta Compton’s O’Shea Jackson Jr. felt the need to refute rumors they were involved in any L.A. riots-based films.