EXCLUSIVE: Here’s a project moving forward at Paramount: the western Man of War starring Samuel L. Jackson, and Tim Story directing and producing.
In Man of War, Jackson plays a newly retired and long-revered general who returns to his hometown in rural Georgia after the death of his wife to find it in the throes of corruption, gentrification, and racism. Using battle-honed strategy and combat skills, he’ll wage all-out war against the town and the billionaire exploiting it. Sheldon Turner penned the screenplay.
Jennifer Klein and Turner are producing through their company, Vendetta Productions, alongside Story and The Story Company’s Vicky Story will executive produce.
Story has directed ten major studio feature films—eight of them have debuted at No. 1 at the box office during their opening weekends—Tom & Jerry, Ride Along 2, Think Like A Man Too, Ride Along, Think Like A Man, Fantastic Four: Rise of The Silver Surfer, Fantastic Four and Barbershop. Story’s feature canon counts north of $1 billion at the global box office making him the first Black director ever to cross this milestone. He was also the first Black director to direct a Marvel film and the first to direct two Marvel movies. His next feature film is The Pick Up starring Eddie Murphy that will be released this year by Amazon Studios. He is currently in pre-production on Netflix’s 72 Hours starring Kevin Hart. On the television side, Story was most recently a director and executive producer of ABC’s Queens and Showtime’s White Famous.
Jackson was nominated for a 1995 Supporting Actor Oscar for Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. His resume spans over 150 movies. The actor has also received Emmy, Golden Globe, SAG and Tony Award nominations, as well as a BAFTA Award, two Independent Spirit Awards and four NAACP Image Awards, among myriad honors. In 2022, in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to cinema, Jackson received an Honorary Oscar. His feature credits are numerous including Jurassic Park, The Hateful Eight, Captain Marvel, the Iron Man franchise, Avengers: Infinity War and End Game, Star Wars – Episodes I-III, among many others. Upcoming is Renny Harlin’s The Beast and J.J. Perry’s Afterburn.
Story is represented by UTA, The Collins Jackson Agency and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole.
Jackson is represented by CAA, Anonymous Content, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner Auerbach Hynick Jaime LeVine Sample & Klein