Zodiac Pictures and Tyler Perry’s Peachtree & Vine Productions teamed up to produce “Frank & Louis,” starring Laurence Fishburne and Clifton Collins Jr.
Directed by Petra Volpi, the film follows a man serving a life sentence and taking a job in prison caring for the elderly and infirm with amnesia. As the project’s official record explains, “What begins as a self-serve parole mission turns into a deeply emotional and transformative relationship, providing a glimmer of redemption in an unforgiving place.”
The participant, whose mission in the company is dedicated to entertainment that stands at the intersection of art and activism, is producing the film with Reto Schaerli and Lukas Hobi of Zodiac Pictures, and Perry and Tim Palen of Peachtree & Vine Productions. Cora Olson is a co-producer on the project, with co-chair Jeff Scholl and Annika McClaren as executive producers. McLaren, Elizabeth Haggard and Connor Desha will oversee the project for participants.
“It’s amazing to see this project grow,” said Co-CEO David Linde. “Joining Tyler Perry on this incredible team, merging with Petra, Clifton, and Lawrence, brings a unique creative dynamism to a powerful story that shows how shared compassion leads to a unifying and exhilarating experience.”
Perry and Palin launched Peachtree & Vine Productions in 2019 as a co-production company producing film, television, and digital content in both the text and non-script spaces.
“I’ve always been a fan of the participants, and the company’s commitment to storytelling that inspires social change,” Berry noted. “As an advocate for prison reform, the story of ‘Frank and Lewis’ and its powerful themes have resonated with me, and I am excited to be part of the creative team that brings this story to life.”
Swiss-Italian director Volpi (“The Divine Order,” Dreamland) also co-wrote the script with German writer Esther Bernstorff.
“Working with Laurence Fishburne and Clifton Collins Jr. on this heartwarming and emotional story is a dream come true,” Volpi said. “I am deeply grateful to the incarcerated men I met while researching this project, and I can’t wait to bring this touching story in a timely manner to an audience. We hope this film will contribute to an important conversation about aging, mental health, and the prison system.”
The new project marks a second collaboration between Fishburne and Participant, having starred as the acclaimed theater and screen veteran in Steven Soderbergh’s 2011 film Contagion, which grossed $136 million. He also has a Best Actor nominee for an Academy Award, a Tony Award and three Emmy Awards to his name. Fishburne’s films include projects directed by the likes of Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee and Francis Ford Coppola, as well as blockbuster films such as the Matrix films, in which he starred as Morpheus. Earlier this year, the actor wrapped up his multi-season career on “Black-ish” and is then set to appear in films including Coppola’s “Megalopolis,” as well as “John Wick: Chapter 4” and “The School for Good and Evil.” “. Fishburne is represented by CAA, Landmark Artist Management, Del Shaw Moonves, Tanaka Finkelstein, and Lezcano Bobb & Dang.
Collins Jr. recently received a Sundance Jury Award for Best Actor for “Jockey”. Among other awards for his performance in the movie, the actor was also nominated for Best Actor at the Independent Spirit Awards. Collins Jr.’s distinguished credits include “Capote”, “Nightmare Alley”, “After Yang”, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”, “Star Trek”, “Pacific Rim” and his breakout performance opposite Samuel L. Jackson, in “187”. In television, Collins Jr. recently starred in Westworld and earned an Emmy nod for his role in the series Thief. The representative is represented by CAA, MGMT. Entertainment, Yorn, Levine, Barnes, Krentzmann, Rubinstein, Conner, Endlich & Gilman,
Volpi previously collaborated with Zodiac Pictures producers on her 2014 debut film Dreamland, which was nominated for four Swiss Film Awards, and her 2017 sequel, The Divine Order. This feature was the Swiss participation in the Academy Awards that year, after debuting and winning three awards at the Tribeca Film Festival. In addition, Volpi’s screenplay for 2015’s “Heidi” became Switzerland’s most internationally successful film of all time. Volpi represents WME and MGMT. entertainment.
Similarly, Bernstorf is well known for her work in film and television, with her dramatic film “4 Könige” being nominated for Best Screenplay by the German Film Awards in 2016. The following year, she received the German Television Academy Award in the same category for the film “Eye Tell von Ununs” . Bernstorff is represented by Verlag der Autoren.
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