Shubhabrata Dutta
Leslie Small has rounded up the cast for his upcoming feature! The Cinemaholic can reveal that Cuba Gooding Jr. and J.B. Smoove will star in the coming-of-age drama ‘Giving Thanks.’ The project will enter production in Atlanta, Georgia, on an undisclosed date. Rebecca De Mornay is also part of the cast. Charles Maye and Michael NJ Wright wrote the screenplay.
The plot revolves around the best friends Marcus and Roddy, who work at a dead-end retail job and dream about jump-starting their dream of living on their own while seeking fame and fortune. The pair devise an ingenious plan to kidnap the pet iguana of the football star Achilles Cooper for ransom. The plan also involves forcing him to headline the birthday party of Marcus’ father, Calvin (Gooding Jr.). The latter is a hardworking man who wants to see his son take advantage of life’s opportunities. Marcus’ arch-nemesis, Dexter (Smoove), is an ambitious hustler who manages a retail box store. There is also Aunt Theodora (De Mornay), an eccentric cabaret/performance artist who tries her best to look out for Roddy but knows a good opportunity when she sees it.
The Academy Award-winning Gooding Jr. most recently appeared as Samuel Wilson in Timothy A. Chey’s biographical drama ‘The Firing Squad,’ based on the true story of the heroin-smuggling group Bali Nine. He played Balthazar in Ali Zamani’s action fantasy movie ‘Angels Fallen: Warriors of Peace,’ in which an Iraq War veteran locks horns with a fallen angel, and Andres in Asif Akbar’s horror film ‘Skeletons in the Closet,’ which centers on a desperate mother who protects her terminally ill daughter from a malevolent spirit. On television, we saw Gooding Jr. as Dominic Banks and Matt Miller in the sixth season of FX’s ‘American Horror Story’ and the infamous O.J. Simpson in the first installment of FX’s ‘American Crime Story.’
Smoove previously played Mr. Dell in Jon Watts’ ‘Spider-Man: Far from Home’ and ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home.’ He also portrayed Leon Black in the HBO comedy series ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm,’ starring Larry David. His other recent credits include Amos in Chris Spencer’s comedy movie ‘Back on the Strip,’ Anwar in Rudy Mancuso’s coming-of-age rom-com ‘Música,’ and Lyndell in Jerrod Carmichael’s black comedy drama ‘On the Count of Three.’
Rebecca De Mornay’s latest acting credits are Kate in Kirsten Foe’s musical drama ‘Off the Record,’ which focuses on a Los Angeles-based musician navigating love and success, Arlene ‘Gigi’ Newberry in Mitzi Peirone’s crime movie ‘Saint Clare,’ and Brenda in Michael Zaiko Hall’s comedy-drama ‘Peter Five Eight,’ starring Kevin Spacey. She also played Dorothy Walker in Netflix’s ‘Jessica Jones’ and Penelope Decker in FOX’s ‘Lucifer.’
Leslie Small previously directed the Katt Williams-led thriller drama ‘For the Love of Money,’ ‘2 Minutes of Fame,’ and the Netflix family drama ‘Holiday Rush.’
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