Singer Erykah Badu is set to star in a movie adaptation of Thulani Davis’ art world/political thriller Maker Of Saints. Veteran actor Roger Guenveur Smith joins Badu in this project, reports IndieWire. Yasiin Bey (formally Mos Def) is also rumored to be involved in the project.
The novel Maker of Saints is inspired by the 1985 death of NYC artist Ana Mendieta, and the synopsis for the film that hooked me from the movie’s Kickstarter page reads:
“The film opens August 26, 2008 in Washington DC. While the Democratic Convention is broadcast live from Denver, a brilliant young artist plunges to her death. Abusive relationships, media manipulation, and art world politics are experienced through the eyes and ears of a woman at her breaking point. There appears to be a rush to declare the death a suicide, a political statement, but her best friend knows better. Or does she? Bird Kincaid can’t sleep, plagued by nightmares — vivid images of Alex Decauter falling seven stories — as grief transforms into obsession. She is jealous of her friend’s meteoric rise to fame and horrified by her intense relationship with a powerful and threatening art world insider, Frank Burton. The film opens the doors to the inner workings of a world rarely seen, a thriving culture backstage, behind the backdrop of DC power and politics.”
Maker of Saints is slated for a 2013 release date.
Source: Jeremy D. Larson, Consequence of Sound
