Films

Janet Mock to Make Feature Directorial Debut with Netflix Drama About Janet Cooke

Mock

Janet Mock is set to direct her first feature. The Emmy-nominated “Pose” writer, director, and producer will helm “Janet,” a Netflix drama inspired by the true story of Janet Cooke, a journalist who found herself in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Deadline broke the news.

Penned by Mock and Ned Martel, the film recalls how Cooke, formerly of the Washington Post, won a Pulitzer Prize in 1981 for her investigative piece “Jimmy’s World,” a portrait of an eight-year-old heroin addict. The story was later revealed to be a fabrication, and Cooke resigned from the Post and returned the prize.

“Janet” is scheduled to shoot later this summer in Washington, D.C. The roles of Cooke, her editor Bob Woodward, and his boss Katherine Graham are currently being cast. Meryl Streep portrayed Graham in 2017’s “The Post.”

“Helming Janet Cooke’s story is a full circle moment for me,” said Mock. “I began my career as a journalist, dreaming of telling stories that mattered for a living. I am thrilled to partner with Netflix for my feature debut, centered on a young black woman at the Washington Post and her ambitious and complicated quest to make the front page — no matter what.”

Mock signed an overall deal with Netflix in 2019, making her the first black trans woman to secure an overall deal with a major studio. In 2018, the trailblazer became the first trans woman of color to write and direct a TV episode when she co-wrote and helmed an episode of “Pose.” She’s since written and directed more eps of the groundbreaking FX drama set in New York City’s ballroom culture scene. “Pose” received an Emmy nomination in 2019 for Outstanding Drama Series. Mock has also directed an episode of “The Politician.”

“You shatter stigma by empathically telling a story that enables people to understand those unlike them. And then you realize, through that unlikeness, you find the likeness,” Mock has said


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