“ Monster,” a courtroom drama starring Kelvin Harrison Jr., Jeffrey Wright, Jennifer Hudson and Jennifer Ehle that s premiering Friday on Netflix isn’t actually new at all.
By LINDSEY BAHR
AP Film Writer
â Monster,â a courtroom drama starring Kelvin Harrison Jr., Jeffrey Wright, Jennifer Hudson and Jennifer Ehle that s premiering Friday on Netflix isnât actually new at all.
Yes, itâs adapted from an acclaimed book by the trailblazing author Walter Dean Myers about a Black teen who is in prison for the possible murder of a Harlem drugstore owner. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January of 2018 and has been sitting on various shelves since. It was acquired by one company, re-titled and planned for a fall 2019 release. But that didnât pan out and then late last year Netflix swept in and took it.
John David Washington.
The story follows Steve Harmon, “a seventeen-year-old honor student whose world comes crashing down around him when he is charged with felony murder. The film follows his dramatic journey from a smart, likable film student from Harlem attending an elite high school through a complex legal battle that could leave him spending the rest of his life in prison.”
As the book’s synopsis adds: “Guilty or innocent, Steve becomes a pawn in the hands of ‘the system,’ cluttered with cynical authority figures and unscrupulous inmates, who will turn in anyone to shorten their own sentences. For the first time, Steve is forced to think about who he is as he faces prison, where he may spend all the tomorrows of his life.”
Netflix Debuts First Trailer & Key Art for Sundance Drama Monster
Netflix debuts first trailer & key art for Sundance drama Monster
It’s been three years since the John Legend executive-produced drama first debuted at 2018’s Sundance Film Festival and now Netflix has unveiled the first trailer and key art for the ensemble adaptation of the legal drama novel
Monster. The trailer can be viewed below while photos and the key art can be viewed in the gallery at the bottom!
I’m excited to share this beautiful, emotional and important story with you all. Monster – directed by @anthonymandler and starring Kelvin Harrison, @iamjhud, @jfreewright, @JharrelJerome, Jennifer Ehle, @asvpxrocky, @Nas – coming to @Netflix on May 7th. #getliftedfilmcopic.twitter.com/8NrTJPnq43