Jason Mitchell is set to executive produce and star in the biopic 50 Shots from TruVision Films, Urban Hollywood 411 has learned.
Mitchell will play Sean Bell, a 23-year-old Black man who was fatally shot by police officers in Queens, New York on Nov. 25, 2006. The film, which is written and produced by Tru of TruVision Films, is currently in pre-production.
Tru is best known for his 2015 film 730, about a young man who recently came home from jail and is fighting to stay on the right path.
Related Story: Sean Bell’s Father on the Film ’50 Shots’ and Jason Mitchell Playing His Slain Son (Exclusive)
Mitchell confirmed his involvement in the film in a video posted on Instagram. He said Bell’s father, William Bell, had authorized the movie.
“Today is a special day, a wonderful day in Queens,” Mitchell said in the video. “My man, Mr. Bell gave us his blessing. My man Tru, he’s been working on this script for three years now… and yours truly is officially signed on to play Sean Bell.”
Bell, his family and friends were leaving his bachelor party in 2006 at Club Kalua, a strip club being investigated by undercover officers over accusations that the owners were involved in a prostitution ring. The group was gunned down by five NYPD officers. Police fired 50 bullets into Bell’s car, killing him and wounding his friends. Two of Bell’s friends, Trent Benefield and Joseph Guzman, were severely wounded. They were all unarmed and the officers were later acquitted of all charges.
Details of Bell’s life and tragic death were memorialized in the 2017 documentary Before the Hashtag: Sean Bell. Now TruVision is making a feature film on his life.
Mitchell previously had roles in Straight Outta Compton, Mudbound and Showtime series The Chi, from which he was dropped in 2019 amid sexual misconduct claims. In a November 2019 interview with The Breakfast Club, Mitchell said: “I’m not 100 percent sure what the allegations themselves were.”
