Barry Jenkins has signed up to direct an adaptation of James Baldwin’s “If Beale Street Could Talk,” which will mark his first film since “Moonlight” picked up the Oscar for Best Picture in February.
Set in the early 1970s, “If Beale Street Could Talk” revolves around Trish, a pregnant and newly engaged woman from Harlem who must try to prove her lover’s innocence after he is falsely accused of rape. James Baldwin’s novel was released in 1974, and Barry Jenkins has already received the support of the late author’s family. According to “Variety,” production on “If Beale Street Could Talk” is due to begin in October.
“If Beale Street Could Talk” has been something of a passion project for Jenkins, as the filmmaker has been intent on bringing the story to the big screen for years. He wrote the screenplay for “If Beale Street Could Talk” in the summer of 2013, when he also adapted Tarell Alvin McCraney’s “In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue” into “Moonlight.”
Barry Jenkins is working in tandem with Annapurna Pictures on “If Beale Street Could Talk,” which over the last few years has helped to bring the likes of “The Master,” “Killing Them Softly,” “Her,” “American Hustle,” and “Everybody Wants Some!!” to the big screen. Their future releases also include Kathryn Bigelow’s “Detroit,” Alexander Payne’s “Downsizing,” Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Phantom Thread,” and Wes Anderson’s “Isle Of Dogs.”
This is just one of a number of projects that Jenkins has been working on since the huge success of “Moonlight.” In March, it was confirmed that the filmmaker is developing a TV series for Amazon based on Colson Whitehead’s novel “The Underground Railroad,” while in October it was revealed that Barry Jenkins was writing the script for a coming-of-age drama based on the life of Olympic boxing champion Claressa ‘T-Rex’ Shields.
If all goes smoothly, these projects should start rolling into cinemas and online by the end of 2018.
