by Patrick Hipes | Deadline Hollywood
Dope director Rick Famuyiwa is attached to write, direct and produce an as-yet-untitled hacker movie for Macro, the new finance and production company founded by former WME partner Charles D. King. The thriller centers on an unassuming and brilliant kid from New York’s projects who turns out to be the founder of a notorious hacker group. The self-taught coder finds a reprieve from his tumultuous life in the world of the dark web as he delves deeper into the subculture and makes a name for himself among his peers and the federal authorities. As a result, his friendships, family and loyalties back home are tested.
The setting seems a good fit for Famuyiwa, whose Sundance smash Dope — a tale about an teen’s zany mission to escape his urban neighborhood — landed at Open Road after the biggest deal in Park City this year. It was released wide this summer. His previous pics include The Wood and Brown Sugar.
The project comes after Macro this summer closed an eight-figure round of funding that included lead investor Emerson Collective, founded by Steve Jobs’ widow Laurene Powell Jobs. King and Macro’s SVP Production Poppy Hanks are producing the pic, the first for the company that is focused on content creation, distribution and engagement for diverse audiences.