Jussie Smollett may still be locked in a lawsuit with the city of Chicago over his alleged hate crime hoax — but the actor will also be making his feature film directorial debut with an adaptation of ‘B-Boy Blues.’
According to The Hollywood Reporter, B-Boy Blues centers on a complicated romantic relationship between two Black men: one, a journalist, and the other, a bike messenger.
The book is the first in a series of five — including 2nd Time Around, If Only For One Nite, The Day Eazy-E Died, Love The One You’re With and A House is Not a Home — and one short story (“Is It Still Jood To Ya?”).
B-Boy Blues was a finalist for a 1995 Lambda Literary Award for Best LGBT/Small Press Title and has been previously adapted (by Hardy) for the stage.
Last month, Smollett asked that the charges against him be dismissed in a Chicago court. His lawyers said the renewed charges based on “illegal and incompetent evidence” should be dismissed.
Smollett’s legal team claim that his second indictment was based on “illegal and incompetent evidence” gathered from Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo during the initial investigation into Smollett, which was later ruled invalid.
“The OSP cannot have it both ways. It cannot convene a special grand jury based on Judge Toomin’s Order but then rely on the transcripts from those ‘void’ proceedings to secure a new indictment,” the motion states, per Page Six.