Celebrity lawyer Johnnie Cochran – probably best known for his work in acquitting a gentleman by the name of O.J. Simpson – is about to have a film made about his pre-O.J. work, and it looks as though Anthony Mackie is set to play him.
Cochran was already a fairly high-profile legal big shot, representing not only O.J but also Michael Jackson, Puff Daddy, Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur. His name was thrust back into public consciousness this year when the hit TV drama The People vs O.J. Simpson dramatised that infamous legal wrangle, with Courtney B. Vance playing Cochran.
The new film is being directed by British filmmaker Justin Chadwick, best known for his work on Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom and The Other Boleyn Girl, and will focus on a key early case in Cochran’s career: a 1981 wrongful death case of college football player Ron Settles.
There’s no word on when filming will commence; Mackie (who is also producing) still has the little matter of two Avengers sequels to contend with. Infinity War, parts I and II, are filming back-to-back on a mammoth eight-month production schedule, due to begin shooting in November.