Alfre Woodard’s recent roles have seen her playing the President of the United States and a comic book villain, and now she’s set to take on the role of a prison warden. The Emmy and Golden Globe winner has signed on to topline a drama about an unlikely connection set in a jail, Deadline reports. Written and directed by Chinonye Chukwu, “Clemency” follows the warden as she develops a close bond with the death row inmate (Aldis Hodge, “Underground” ) she’s been assigned to execute.
Bronwyn Cornelius and Julian Cautherley will produce via ACE Pictures Entertainment.
“Clemency” was a 2017 Athena List Winner at the Athena Film Festival. The list recognizes the best unproduced scripts about female characters.
“We were thrilled to discover the incredibly moving screenplay by writer/director Chinonye Chukwu, and with participation of the outstanding lead actress Alfre Woodard, multi-talented composer Kathryn Bostic, and the highly experienced production team, led by producer Bronwyn Cornelius, our decision to come on board was very easy,” said Johnny Chang, Managing Director of ACE Pictures Entertainment.
Chukwu made her feature debut with 2012’s “alaskaLand,” a drama about estranged Nigerian-American siblings forced reunite in their hometown. The founder of Pen to Pictures, a film collaborative that teaches incarcerated women to make their own short films, Chukwu’s own shorts include “A Long Walk” and “Bottom.” The source notes that she’s also “known for her work on the clemency campaign for Tyra Patterson, who was wrongfully accused of murder and was recently released from prison after serving almost 23 years.”
“Clemency” is currently filming. Danielle Brooks (“Orange Is the New Black”) and Wendell Pierce (“The Wire”) also appear in the pic.
Woodard is set to reprise her role as Mariah Dillard in Season 2 of “Luke Cage,” set to drop June 22 on Netflix. She played the U.S. prez in NBC’s “State of Affairs,” which was cancelled after one season. Her other credits include “Annabelle,” “12 Years a Slave,” and “Star Trek: First Contact.” She won a Golden Globe and Emmy for her role in “Miss Evers’ Boys,” and also took home Emmys for “L.A. Law” and “Hill Street Blues.”
