Billy Porter To Star In, Co-Write James Baldwin Biopic For Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group Motion Pictures

L to R: Billy Porter, Byron Allen

Billy Porter and Dan McCabe have been chosen by Allen Media Group Motion Pictures to write a James Baldwin biopic. The film will be based on David Leeming's 1994 book, James Baldwin: A Biography, which details the life of the celebrated writer and civil rights activist. Baldwin's best-known works include Go Tell It on the Mountain, Notes of a Native Son, Another Country, The Fire Next Time, Giovanni's Room, and If Beale Street Could Talk.

Portraying Baldwin has been a longtime dream for Porter, who is also set to produce the biopic alongside D.J. Gugenheim for Incognegro Productions. AMGMP's Allen, Carolyn Folks, Jennifer Lucas, Matthew Signer, and Chris Charalambous will serve as executive producers. The project is set to expand Baldwin's legacy for generations to come and showcase his complex, driven, and brilliant personality.

Baldwin's cultural relevance has been demonstrated in recent years through projects such as Raoul Peck's Academy Award-nominated documentary I Am Not Your Negro and Barry Jenkins' adaptation of If Beale Street Could Talk. Allen Media Group's Founder, Chairman, and CEO, Byron Allen, expressed his passion for sharing Baldwin's phenomenal story with the world and praised Porter and McCabe's commitment to amplifying his legacy and contributions.

Porter, an actor, singer, director, composer, and playwright, broke out on screen with his role as Pray Tell in FX's Pose, becoming the first openly gay Black man to win an Emmy in a lead acting category. McCabe is a New York-based writer and playwright behind the Porter-directed play The Purists. Allen Media Group Motion Pictures has previously released successful films such as 47 Meters Down and Chappaquiddick.