Sartaj Singh
J.K. Simmons will tug at our heartstrings with a poignant drama! The Cinemaholic has learned that the veteran actor will headline the cast of Castille Landon’s ‘Cry.’ The feature film will start shooting in Louisiana in September. The movie revolves around the true story of the Cry family, who are tormented by Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), a rare and devastating neurological disease inherited through the maternal line, which is nearly always fatal for male children.
The film likely takes inspiration from David Cry’s memoir ‘A Short Walk Home: With Love All Things Are Possible,’ which has a foreword written by Simmons. The literary work explores how ALD shapes and affects life, capturing the family’s helplessness, anger, and loss. At the same time, it is also a story of finding solace when faced with overwhelming grief, being thankful, and making the most of what one has.
In his book, Cry details not only his own experiences but also those of other families suffering from ALD whom he had worked with. “Cry has a way with words. He is a storyteller and a funny guy,” writes Simmons in the memoir’s foreword, recounting meeting the author. “He then told me about Burke’s nephew and the terrible struggle he and his family were enduring. He told me about the great joys of his life—his wife and their little boy, Brennan. I listened, and I empathized, and I laughed a lot, and I cried some,” the actor added.
Simmons has recently been prolific in voice acting for animated shows and films. He lent his voice to Omni-Man in Prime Video’s ‘Invincible,’ Ben in ‘The Venture Bros.: Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart,’ and J. Jonah Jameson in ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.’ The actor also starred in independent films such as ‘You Can’t Run Forever’ as Wade, ‘Little Brother’ as Warren Duffy, and ‘One Day as a Lion’ as Walter Boggs. The 69-year-old has several projects in the pipeline and will be seen in upcoming films like Netflix’s ‘The Union,’ ‘Saturday Night,’ a comedy recounting what took place behind the scenes before the first airing of ‘Saturday Night Live’ in 1975, and ‘Red One,’ in which he plays Santa Claus.
Landon is a Florida-born actress and director known for helming romantic dramas like ‘After Ever Happy,’ ‘Perfect Addiction,’ and ‘After We Fell.’ Her latest directorial work is ‘Summer Camp,’ which follows middle-aged women who seize the chance to relive their childhood days for a summer camp reunion. The filmmaker took on the supporting role of Cheery Counselor in the film and most recently acted in ‘Lady of the Manor’ as Kim, ‘The Favorite’ as Julia Martin, and ‘New York Normal’ as Karen.
Louisiana is a fitting filming location for ‘Cry,’ as the actual events took place in the state, with David Cry and his family living in Slidell. Some other notable films and shows with poignant themes shot in the region include ‘The Iron Claw,’ ‘Green Book,’ ‘12 Years a Slave,’ and ‘Dallas Buyers Club.’
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