JC Lee To Direct ‘Bad Genius’; Key Cast Includes Benedict Wong, Jabari Banks, And Callina Liang
JC Lee
Picturestart and Picture Perfect Federation have announced that JC Lee will direct the English-language remake of the hit Thai movie, Bad Genius. The upcoming film will also feature a talented cast that includes Callina Liang, Jabari Banks, and Benedict Wong. The production is scheduled to begin in May, with Little Ray Media company financing the project.
L to R: Benedict Wong, JC Lee, Callina Liang, & Jabari Banks
JC Lee will co-write the screenplay with Julius Onah, who was previously announced as the director. Lee and Onah previously worked together on the Sundance 2019 title Luce, which was adapted from Lee’s original play.
The English remake of Bad Genius is set to be a high-stakes, high-octane thriller about a diverse group of young people who team up to fight the system of injustice and inequity and take down the rigged academic institutions around them. The project is produced by Erik Feig and Jessica Switch at Picturestart, with Patrick Wachsberger and Ashley Stern at Picture Perfect Federation.
Mallory Edens’ Little Ray Media company is financing the movie, with executive producers that include Edens, Picturestart’s Julia Hammer, and Wong. The film has pre-sold to a slew of major distribution partners, including Studio Canal in the UK, Constantin in Germany, and Belga in Benelux.
Lee said, “I am so excited to share a new take on what was already a wildly successful and remarkable film. I can’t wait to work with this fantastic, innovative group of artists, drawing on our diverse array of real-world experiences to make a film as thrilling and fun as the original.”
Edens, who fell in love with the project due to the lead female character Lynn, said, “She is a worthy protagonist because she’s a young woman who is highly intelligent, independent thinking, and brave. She is also importantly flawed: as the title suggests, she does some ‘bad’ things.”
Bad Genius is Lee’s directorial debut, after taking writing and producing credits on Luce as well as The Morning Show, How to Get Away with Murder, and Looking.
Liang is represented by Authentic Talent and Literary Management, Payne Management in the UK and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher.
Banks, who stars as The Fresh Prince in Peacock’s hit series Bel-Air, is represented by WME, Frontline Management, and Granderson Des Rochers.
Wong, whose other credits include Spider-Man: No Way Home, The Martian and KIck-Ass 2, is represented by Hirsch Wallerstein Hayum Matlof and Fishman.
James McGough and Christina Tajalli negotiated the deal on behalf of Picturestart. Alan Grodin of Weintraub Tobin negotiated the deal on behalf of Picture Perfect Federation. Andrew Kramer of Loeb & Loeb represents Little Ray Media. Lee is represented by CAA, Chris Donnelly at LBI Entertainment, and Erik Hyman at Paul Hastings.
