Bron Studios has joined forces with Tonik Productions and Get Lifted Film Co. to co-produce and finance the contemporary drama MONSTER, in association with Charlevoix, Red Crown and Creative Wealth Media. The film marks the feature debut of acclaimed commercial/music video director Anthony Mandler, who received worldwide notoriety for his work with some of the music industry’s most influential artists.
MONSTER begins principal photography this week in New York City.
Written by Colen C. Wiley and Janece Shaffer, MONSTER is based on the award winning novel by Walter Dean Myers.
MONSTER will feature an outstanding ensemble cast including: Kelvin Harrison Jr. (The Birth of A Nation, Roots), in the role of Steve Harmon; Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls, the upcoming Hairspray Live!), Jennifer Ehle (Little Men, Zero Dark Thirty), A$AP Rocky, (Dope, Zoolander 2), Nas, (The Get Down, The Affair), Tim Blake Nelson (Fantastic Four, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk), John David Washington (Ballers, Coco) and Jeffrey Wright (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay 1 & 2, Westworld).
“Monster” is what the prosecutor calls 17 year old honors student and aspiring filmmaker Steve Harmon. He is being charged with felony murder for a crime he says he did not commit; but is Steve really a monster? As Steve’s world comes crashing down around him, the film follows his dramatic journey from a smart, likeable young man from Harlem attending an elite high school through a complex legal battle that could leave him spending the rest of his life in prison.
MONSTER will be produced by Bron Studios’ Aaron L. Gilbert, and Tonik Productions’ Nikki Silver and Tonya Lewis Lee, with producers Mike Jackson of Get Lifted Film Co and Charlevoix’s Edward Nahem.
Executive Producers include Nas, Red Crown’s Daniel Crown and Yoni Liebling, Creative Wealth’s Jason Cloth and Richard McConnell, Linnea Roberts and Get Lifted Film Co’s John Legend. Legend and Nas will both play a role in the film’s music.