British director Idris Elba poses on the red carpet at the United Kingdom premiere of “Yardie”, in central London on Aug. 21, 2018. Image: AFP/Anthony Harvey via AFP Relaxnews
Deadline reports that production on feature “Concrete Cowboys”, featuring Caleb McLaughlin, one of the rising stars of hit Netflix series “Stranger Things” and British actor Idris Elba began this Friday, Aug. 9.
The cast of “Concrete Cowboys” will also include Jharrel Jerome, fresh from an Emmy nomination for his performance in Ava DuVernay mini-series “When They See Us”.
The film is inspired by daily life at the Fletcher Street Stables, a community of African-American horsemen who kept the peace on the streets of Philadelphia over a century. The project is based on Greg Neri’s novel “Ghetto Cowboy”.
The film will focus on the adventures of a 15-year-old (McLaughlin) who is forced to live with his eccentric father (Elba) in North Philadelphia, where he takes in the effervescent urban cowboy culture in the dangerous working-class neighborhood.
The film will be directed by first-time feature director Ricky Staub and based on a screenplay he wrote with Dan Walser. Staub already has a short film under his belt, “The Cage”, whose action also takes place in the former capital of the United States.
While “Fast & Furious” spinoff “Hobbs & Shaw” star Elba no longer needs an introduction, McLaughlin has just recently been cast in the spotlight, playing character Lucas Sinclair in Netflix’s “Stranger Things”. McLaughlin first got his break playing a young Simba in the Broadway adaptation of “The Lion King”. HM/JB
RELATED STORIES:
Idris Elba says race talk around Bond casting disappointing