‘Just Mercy’ aims for justice on death row, and in Hollywood

Michael B. Jordan doesn’t usually get star struck. Bryan Stevenson h a different effect on him.

Stevenson, whom Jordan plays in legal drama “Just Mercy,” has led one of most successful efforts to combat mass incarceration and racial injustices in United States legal system. In 1989, he founded Equal Justice Initiative, a nprofit. He’s argued five times before Supreme Court. He and EJI have successfully challenged more than 125 death row convictions. Archbishop Desmond Tutu has called him “America’s Mandela.”

“You don’t really come across too many people like that. re isn’t a voice like his,” says Jordan. “Meeting that person is like: Man, this is hidden gem. This is unsung hero. This is national hero that needs to be protected at all costs. I wanted to do his story justice.”

“Just Mercy” is based on Stevenson’s acclaimed 2014 memoir “Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption.” It’s centered on a formative case for Stevenson, one that helped birth EJI. In 1989, Stevenson defended Walter McMillian, a n 47-year-old black tree cutter who year before h been falsely accused and swiftly sentenced to death for murder of an 18-year-old white woman in Monroeville, Alabama, hometown of Harper Lee.

“Just Mercy,” in which Jamie Foxx plays McMillian, has shape of a civil rights drama like “To Kill a Mockingbird” but it’s more contemporary. story might t be set during slavery or segregation, but those histories are innately connected to prejudices and injustices that le to jailing of men like McMillian. Stevenson believes movies like “Just Mercy” can play an important role in raising awareness.

“We don’t see those kinds of stories very often and I think that’s created a void in our consciousness about what’s happening. We have highest rate of incarceration in world and most people in this country have kwledge of that,” says Stevenson. “That lack of kwledge and that lack of compassion is what’s me us so vulnerable to abuse that is on display in this story.”

Jordan and Stevenson were speaking in a recent interview toger amid copious publicity demands of a much-touted holiday movie release, one that has drawn warm reviews since its premiere at Toronto International Film Festival and found awards season attention ahe of its Dec. 25 release. It expands nationwide Jan. 10.

Stevenson has dedicated much of his life to vocacy outside courtroom (including a widely watched TED Talk ), yet even he was slightly shell-shocked by experience. “I think I did 67 interviews yesterday,” he said, bewildered.

But both Stevenson and Jordan want “Just Mercy” to be as talked about as possible. movie is, itself, a representation of ideals it upholds. “Just Mercy” is first major studio movie produced with an inclusion rider, contractual provision mandating consideration of people from underrepresented groups for cast and crew positions.

After Frances McDormand famously uttered term in her acceptance speech at 2018 Oscars, Jordan’s production company, Outlier Society, opted it. That helped le to a similar such commitment by WarnerMedia , parent company of “Just Mercy” distributor Warner Bros., which has a first-look deal with Outlier Society.

“This is first opportunity for me to really implement inclusion rider in a real way,” says Jordan. “It’s a step. You’ve got to be able to apt and find ways to make change. I’m just trying to play my part in bigger puzzle of it all. Change is something that’s uncomfortable so you have to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. I’ve learned that from Bryan.”

Jordan, 32-year-old Newark, New Jersey-raised star of “Black Panr” and “Creed,” and 60-year-old Stevenson, who experienced segregation and violence first hand growing up in Delaware before attending Harvard Law, have found a bond despite ir divergent worlds. y are both black men from humble rast origins who have risen to heights of ir respective industries, and are trying to use ir considerable abilities to effect change.

“He’s t just somebody trying to be famous,” Stevenson says of Jordan. “He’s trying to be somebody who makes a difference in world. I so appreciated that and respected that about him. It me me more hopeful and confident that this project would be OK because I was very apprehensive at first.”

Stevenson h seen plenty of legal dramas that prized atrics over issues. But he was put at ease, in part, by Jordan’s desire to make film with inclusion rider.

“Having a film about justice that isn’t in some way dealing with issues like diversity and inclusion and opening doors to women and people of color would be paroxical,” says Stevenson. “I was ermously proud that Michael me that part of this.”

film’s director, Destin Daniel Cretton (“Short Term 12”), is currently prepping Marvel’s first Asian-led film, “Shang-Chi and Legend of Ten Rings.” In making “Just Mercy,” he said he saw direct effects of production’s focus on inclusivity.

“We h department hes who have never been a department he in ir careers, and y h very long careers. y just h never been given chance,” said Cretton, specifically citing makeup department he Patrice Coleman. “w she has that on her resume and she will get hired again. That is a really beautiful thing to me. I hope more productions and more studios take steps to do that.”

“Just Mercy” isn’t just about one case. re is ar, harrowingly depicted in film, about a man on death row (Herbert Richardson, played by Rob Morgan) who doesn’t dispute his guilt but does dispute state’s right to end his life. “Just Mercy” becomes a drama about death penalty, itself. In his book, Stevenson writes: “ real question of capital punishment in this country is: Do we deserve to kill?”

Stevenson remains optimistic and tireless. “You can triumph,” he says. “You can make a difference.” His empowering mess of hope has resonated especially for Jordan.

“I feel like I grew up a lot in last four or five years. Something greater than me has kind of called me in to help push something forward,” Jordan says. “This movie changed me. It opened up my eyes.”