Mary J. Blige to star in Malik Vitthal-directed horror flick 'Body Cam'
Grammy Award-winning and Oscar-nominated actress, and rapper Mary J. Blige has been cast to star in 'Body Cam,' a horror thriller that is being made by Paramount's Paramount Players division, states The Hollywood Reporter. The project was reportedly the first major purchase of Paramount Players boss Brian Robbins last year.
According to an official description, 'Body Cam' will focus on several Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) police officers who are being haunted by a malevolent spirit that is tied to the murder of a black youth at the hands of two white cops. The film derives its name from another snippet of the story where its revealed that the incident had been caught on a body cam video that was subsequently then destroyed in a cover-up.
Blige will be portraying the leading role of the officer who begins to be plagued by visions of the incident and begins investigating the cover-up in a bid to get to the bottom of the mysterious happenings and bring an end to the haunting.
The rapper has had an exemplary musical career that has seen her walk away with nine Grammy awards and made her the most successful female R&B/Hip-Hop artist of the last 25 years. She has sold over $75 million records worldwide and is considered by many to be one of the greatest artists of all-time. But having conquered music and thirsting for a new challenge, she decided to take up acting as well.
She made her film debut with the Darnell Martin-directed 2001 film 'Prison Song' before going on to appear in the 2009 Tyler Perry-directed film 'I Can Do Bad All By Myself,' 'Rock of the Ages' (2012) and 'Black Nativity' (2013). She also voice acted for 'Sherlock Gnomes,' which released earlier this March.
It was 2017's 'Mudbound,' however, that saw her truly recognized as an elite actress, earning her two Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress and Best Original song; she thus also became the first person nominated for an Academy Award for acting and song in the same year.
The story of 'Body Cam,' which has been described as "a tonal blend of 'Get Out' and 'End of Watch,'" has been penned by Richmond Riedel, who is known for his work on 'Deep Impact,' 'The Recruit,' and 'Target Practice,' and then later rewritten by Nic McCarthy and John Ridley.
Malik Vitthal, who has in the past was behind the likes of 'Leela,' 'Watts and Volts,' and 'Imperial Dreams,' will be directing the film. 'Body Cam' will be produced by Matt Kaplan of 'The Lazarus Effect' and 'Before I Fall' fame and who is also the principal and CEO of Chapter One Films.