Another Spike Lee Joint will be to a television near you soon, as the renowned director takes on a HBO drama loosely centered around the youth of heavyweight boxer, Mike Tyson. “Da Brick” was initially developing as HBO’s Entourage meets The Wire, and then Lee was brought in as director by the show’s creators, Doug Ellin (Entourage) and Jim Lefkowitz, and writer, John Ridley.
Set in present-day Newark, NJ, alson known as “Brick City,” Da Brick is described as a contemporary exploration of what it means to be a young, black man in supposedly post-racial America.
The show’s existence stems from Tyson’s guest role on Entourage in 2010, where he suggested to Ellin that he should create the same sort of story, but instead about his life.
Entourage is a series inspired by executive producer Mark Wahlberg’s early years in Hollywood. Ellin recounts his conversation with Tyson…
“That’s when Mike asked me, why don’t we do with my life what we did with Mark’s life,” he says.
THR is reporting that Spike Lee has cast Attack the Block’s, John Boyega, as the lead male actor “Donnie“-a teenager, who after his release from juvenlie detention on his 18th birthday begins an exploration of what it means to be a man for himself and those around him.
Find out who will portray the three supporting characters below…
