Michael B. Jordan is teaming up with Yahya Abdul-Mateen to produce the true-crime thriller I Helped Destroy People, which has the latter attached to star.
It is a dramatic thriller based on real-life events and the New York Times article that reported the story.
As reported by The Hollywood Reporter in their exclusive, Ben Watkins is writing the script for the feature project.
Jordan and his Outlier Society’s partner Elizabeth Raposo will be producing along with Abdul-Mateen’s House Eleven10. It is set at Amazon Studios, where Outlier Society has an overall deal.
Janet Reitman's New York Times article told the story of Terry Albury, an F.B.I. agent who was tasked with infiltrating Muslim communities post 9/11.
Albury grew so disillusioned by the war on terror and what he witnessed as a member of the agency and violations of its rules on domestic terrorism that he began leaking classified documents to the press in an effort to expose the wrongdoings. He was taken in via sting operation and was sentenced to a four years in prison.
“There is this mythology surrounding the war on terrorism, and the F.B.I., that has given agents the power to ruin the lives of completely innocent people based solely on what part of the world they came from, or what religion they practice, or the color of their skin. And I did that,” Albury is quoted saying in the article, adding, “I helped destroy people. For 17 years.”
Amazon picked up the article after a bidding war between interested studios.
Abdul-Mateen stars in next month’s Ambulance from Universal Pictures. He was also recently attached to the FX series, Scent of Burnt Flowers, and will of course appear in next year’s Aquaman sequel.
Of Jordan’s upcoming slate, he is starring in and directing Creed III and has several projects he is producing under Outlier Society, including a Static Shock film and You Made A Fool Of Death With Your Beauty at Amazon.
