A new Netflix film The Council will describe the life of infamous New York City crime boss Nicky Barnes with Will Smith at the helm. The script will be written by Peter Landesman who also wrote Concussion – another one of Smith’s films. He will also serve as an executive producer.
The script tells the story of the relationships between the 7 African-American crime lords, led by Barnes, who operated the crime syndicate in the neighborhood of Harlem in the 1970s and 1980s. they planned to use drug money to create an African-American city-state that will govern itself within the neighborhood.
Barnes was arrested in 1978 and was sentenced to life in prison. He turned a federal informant and this was what brought the council down. He died of cancer in 2012.
Smith is also working on another biopic – King Richard, which tells the story of Richard Williams, father of Venus and Serena Williams, who pushed their careers in the world of tennis. The film is due to hit theaters on Thanksgiving next year.
