By Borys Kit 25 minutes ago
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) -
A New York City
tollbooth worker in desperate need of a car wrote a crime
thriller script titled "Brooklyn's Finest" last year. Now he
finds himself rubbing shoulders with some of Hollywood's
finest, including Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke and
director Antoine Fuqua.
Living in Brooklyn, Michael Martin had just totaled his car
in an accident. While in physical therapy, he entered a
screenwriting competition, hoping to win the prize money for
his new set of wheels.
"I had never written a screenplay before," said Martin, who
had studied film in college. "I thought, 'How hard can it be?'
I was more like, 'If I win this, I can get a new car."'
His screenplay came in second but eventually ended up in a
far better place: the doorstep of Warner Bros.-based producer
who had been looking for a writer with an authentic and gritty
voice to write a sequel to the 1991 gangbanger saga "New Jack
City," which was in development at Warner Premiere, the
studio's direct-to-DVD division. Impressed by "Finest," Mary
Viola set out find the writer, who then had no agent.
Martin had moved out to L.A., staying at a downtown hotel,
and hooked up with management representatives. He enjoyed a
brief stint writing for Showtime's "Sleeper Cell," but
homesickness overwhelmed him. He returned to New York and wound
up back at the Transit Authority.
Meanwhile, in the hands of Viola, "Finest" became red hot,
quickly attracting top talent. Gere and Cheadle are now
polishing their badges to star in the ensemble police thriller,
which Fuqua will direct for indie financier Millennium Films.
Hawke is also coming on board to star, a move that will reteam
him with Fuqua, who directed him to an Oscar nomination in
"Training Day." Ellen Barkin is also booking a part.
The script almost brought Mel Gibson out of acting
seclusion. He took a string of meetings, but things ultimately
didn't work out.
The story, a sort of "Crash" meets "Training Day," is a
dramatic ensemble with three intertwining story lines involving
Brooklyn cops. "I worked for a bus company that got indicted by
the Feds because of Mob connections," Martin said. "I could not
have written 'Brooklyn's Finest' without that experience."
The movie is prepping for a May shoot in Brooklyn, in the
very locations that inspired Martin to write the script.
"Things are moving very fast right now. It's something I've
been waiting a long time for," Martin said.
Fuqua's last movie was 2007's "Shooter," while Gere was
last seen in Todd Haynes' "I'm Not There." Cheadle was in
theaters last year with "Ocean's Thirteen" and "Talk To Me."
Martin, a new dad, was recently promoted to construction
flagger within the Transit Authority, working inside the subway
system. He is writing "New Jack City 2," often during his
breaks in the subway tunnels.
He drives a new car.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
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