Justin Chadwick will direct Anthony Mackie as Johnnie Cochran in an untitled movie about the real-life legal superhero.
The ‘Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom’ filmmaker has been tasked with bringing the landmark 1981 Signal Hill police brutality case to the big screen with the ‘Captain America: Civil War’ in the lead role.
The story follows the late American lawyer in his dogged pursuit of justice, representing the family of California State Long Beach football player Ron Settles, who was arrested for speeding in Signal Hill in Los Angeles.
He was found hanged in his police cell shortly after his arrest.
At the time, police said it was suicide, but an autopsy – performed after Johnnie persuaded Mr. Settle’s family to exhume the body – showed Mr. Settles had been choked to death.
As a result, the family was awarded $760,000 in a civil suit, the police chief resigned, and reforms were mandated.
During his career, Cochran represented high-profile celebrity clients such as O.J Simpson, Michael Jackson and Jim Brown, but this case led to his rise to fame as an advocate for African/Americans being victims in police brutality cases.
He passed away in 2005, aged 67.
Mackie has been signed to the project for some time and is set to produce with Jason Spire and Robbie Brenner.
Chadwick recently helmed ‘Tulip Fever’.
Johnnie Cochran movie finds director in Justin Chadwick
