To attain certain firsts, you have to last–and that is certainly the case for director Doug Atchison and bicoastal commercial production house Reactor Films. Both have been persistent and patient in waiting for their project, Akeelah and the Bee, to get off the ground. At press time Bee was about to take flight, with production slated to begin on February 7.
Bee, a drama that stars Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett, and Keke Palmer (in the title role of Akeelah Anderson), marks Atchison’s feature directorial debut. It’s also the first theatrical motion picture for Reactor. The production company was drawn to the project in ’00 when Atchison’s script won the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ prestigious Nicholl Fellowship for Screenwriting. The script for Bee caught the eye of Reactor development executive Danny Llewelyn. Some four-and-a-half years later, the movie has finally come to pass, the last major hurdle recently being cleared with the securing of financing and distribution from Lions Gate Films. Also providing key financing is 2929 Entertainment, the venture headed by entrepreneur and Dallas Mavericks NBA team owner Mark Cuban.
Llewelyn and many of his counterparts make it a point–and with good reason–to scout the annual Nicholl Fellowship winners and finalists. Past winners include numerous aspiring writers who have gone on to attain prominence, including Michael A. Rich (Finding Forrester), Ehren Kruger (Arlington Road), Andrew W. Marlowe (Air Force One) and Susannah Grant (Erin Brockovich, 28 Days).
The Nicholl Fellowships started in 1986 with 99 entries. In ’00, the year Atchison was among the select winners, there were 4,000 entries.
Bee centers on Akeelah, an 11-year-old girl from South Central Los Angeles, and her journey to compete in the National Spelling Bee. Fishburne plays Dr. Joshua Larabee, who becomes her mentor.
Bassett portrays Akeelah’s mom, Wanda Anderson. In the film, Akeelah has to deal with a struggle from within–in part by not being afraid to show that she is smart. Akeelah’s inclination is to downplay her intelligence and spelling acumen, which are not regarded as hip traits in her inner city circle.
Reactor principal Michael Romersa described Bee as the Rocky of spelling-bee movies. “It’s a sports story with a lot of heart.” Atchison developed the idea for the script after seeing ESPN’s inaugural broadcast of the Scripps Howard Spelling Bee. At the time, he observed that few inner-city children participated in the competition. The Akeelah character, said Atchison, “comes from an environment where many kids feel like the Spelling Bee is for someone else. In order to compete, Akeelah must first overcome her feelings of inadequacy.”
Romersa, Llewelyn and Out of the Blue Entertainment’s Sid Ganis and Nancy Hult Ganis are producers on the film in association with Fishburne’s Cinema Gypsy Productions. Exec producers are 2929’s Cuban, Todd Wagner and Marc Butan.
Reactor spent the past four years trying to get the project up and running. Sid Ganis, a veteran producer (Mr. Deeds, Big Daddy, The Master of Disguise) and industry exec, was involved initially. He then moved onto other projects with Reactor picking up the option. A deal appeared pending with an independent financier who knew Ganis and brought him back into the picture. But then the financier fell out of the deal. Ganis remained committed to the movie, though, and he and Reactor teamed on trying to make it come to pass. Their efforts were finally rewarded when Lions Gate and 2929 came on board. With production about to get underway, plans for the film once it’s finished are still being formulated. One option is to distribute it in the fall. Another is to go the festival route and drum up interest and momentum for a later release.
Atchison could have made a deal to get his script made into a film much sooner. But he declined those potentially lucrative offers because they called for bringing in an outside director. Some prospective suitors, said Llewelyn, did not want “to take a chance” with a first-time director. But Reactor strongly believed that Atchison was the ideal helmer for the film.
Romersa believes Atchison also has the sensibilities to be a successful spot director. Whether or not Atchison pursues that path remains to be seen, but Reactor would be interested if he opts to do so.
The coming to fruition of Bee, added Romersa, helps Reactor on several fronts. For one, having gone through the process and successfully negotiated a feature deal, the company is well positioned to push other projects through the industry pipeline. Additionally, the making of Bee sends a message to commercial directors that Reactor can deliver on a long-form promise.
Reactor has other entertainment irons on the fire. The company is currently in development on a suspense thriller with creative director/director Jonathan Yarbrough of RP alpha group, Santa Monica. And as reported in last week’s SHOOT e.dition, Reactor director Thor Freudenthal has a short film, Motel, being screened as part of the Shorts With Features program at the Sundance Festival, Park City, Utah.