Tuesday, March 03, 2009

BASSETT STEPS INTO DIRECTORIAL DEBUT


Right on the heels of the conclusion of "ER," tv and film star Angela Bassett is already said to be lining up her next gig, one that will see her in the directors chair.

Bassett will make her directorial debut with "United States," an indie feature she will also produce with her Bassett/ Vance Prods. partner and husband Courtney B. Vance.

According to THR, "States," based on the novel "Erasure" by Percival Everett, is a dramatic comedy about Monk Ellison, a prominent black literary figure who writes a faux autobiography from the perspective of a barely literate hoodlum to decry what is wrong with the glorification of "ghetto" culture. But when the book is lauded as a possible contender for the National Book Award, he must choose between pride and fame.

Dwayne Johnson-Cochran wrote the adaptation, which is being eyed for a summer start.

"States" will be the first project produced by Bassett/Vance.