(AllHipHop News) The legal drama, Just Mercy, experienced a limited release on December 25, 2019. As the film prepares to go nationwide on January 10, several celebrities, sports teams, churches, and corporations are buying out theaters and offering free admission to see the movie.
Hip Hop artists Kanye West and Common are taking part in the buyout. R&B singer John Legend, reality star Kim Kardashian West, NBA legend Kobe Bryant, and Emmy winner Lena Waithe are also assisting to make the true story of Walter McMillian accessible to as many people as possible.
Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx stars as McMillian in the Destin Daniel Cretton-directed motion picture. Foxx earned a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for his portrayal of the African-American man wrongly convicted to death row for the 1986 murder of a white woman in Alabama.
Michael B. Jordan plays Bryan Stevenson, the lawyer that took up McMillian’s case. Just Mercy is based on Stevenson’s bestselling memoir Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Lanham co-wrote the screenplay. The main cast also includes Brie Larson, Rob Morgan, Tim Blake Nelson, Rafe Spall, O’Shea Jackson Jr., and Karan Kendrick.
The list of individuals, companies, and organizations doing Just Mercy theater buyouts include:
- Kobe Bryant
- Kanye and Kim Kardashian West
- John Legend
- Common
- Lena Waithe
- Garrett Temple from the Brooklyn Nets
- Devin McCourty, New England Patriots Defensive Back #32
- Jason McCourty, New England Patriots Cornerback #30
- Microsoft
- Coach
- Goldhouse
- JPMorgan Chase
- Prudential Financial
- Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group
- Eastdil Secured
- The Margaret and Daniel Loeb Foundation & Third Point LLC
- The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation
- Chris & Crystal Sacca
- Michael & Lydia Kives
- Sheryl Leach
- William McMorrow, Chairman and CEO of Kennedy Wilson
- Just Keep Livin Foundation
- Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics
- Pastor Jamal Bryant and New Birth Church, Atlanta
- Dr. Irishea Hilliard and New Light Church, Houston
- Bishop Dale Bronner and Word of Faith Family Worship Cathedral, Atlanta
- From the NBA: Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Memphis Grizzlies, Utah Jazz, Milwaukee Bucks, Sacramento Kings
- From the NFL: San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Rams, Atlanta Falcons
