Way back in 2009, Samuel L. Jackson was attached to star in an adaptation of the nonfiction bestseller “Same Kind of Different as Me: A Modern-Day Slave, An International Art Dealer, And The Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them Together,” by Denver Moore, Ron Hall and Lynn Vincent, which tells the true story of 3 unlikely people who team up to try and solve homelessness in Fort Worth, Texas.

The longer, and more intriguing description reads: “A dangerous, homeless drifter who grew up picking cotton in virtual slavery. An upscale art dealer accustomed to the world of Armani and Chanel. A gutsy woman with a stubborn dream. A story so incredible no novelist would dare dream it. It begins outside a burning plantation hut in Louisiana… and an East Texas honky-tonk…. and, without a doubt, in the heart of God. It unfolds in a Hollywood hacienda… an upscale New York gallery… a downtown dumpster… a Texas ranch. Gritty with pain and betrayal and brutality, this true story also shines with an unexpected, life-changing love.”

Jackson was set to play Denver Moore, the “dangerous, homeless drifter who grew up picking cotton,” who develops an unlikely friendship with a wealthy Dallas art dealer named Ron Hall, after they meet at a homeless shelter where Hall was volunteering.

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In the above photo are the real life Denver Moore and Ron Hall.

Skip ahead 5 years to 2014, to news that Djimon Hounsou had replaced Samuel L. Jackson to play Denver Moore, while Ron Hall was to be played Greg Kinnear.

Renee Zellweger co-stars in the film adaptation of the book, playing (from the title) “the unlikely woman who bound them together” – Ron Hall’s wife, who introduced him to Denver Moore.

And also Jon Voight is a member of the cast.

The project, which has long been set up at Paramount – with Mary Parent and Darren Moorman producing – is finally heading to theaters, with an October 20, 2017 release date via the studio and PureFlix.

Michael Carney is directing from a script penned by Alexander Foard, Michael Carney, and Ron Hall.

To coincide with the film’s release, W Publishing Group (an imprint of Thomas Nelson) will publish a special movie edition of the novel on September 20, 2017, which will include a 16-page color photo insert, a new epilogue, and the story behind how the book was brought to the big screen. It’ll be published under the title “Same Kind of Different As Me – Movie Edition.”

If you read the book, share your thoughts.

“Same Kind of Different as Me” opens in US theaters on October 20, 2017.

Trailer below: