So, what’s scarier than a bullied high school teenager with a chip on her shoulder and revenge on her mind? Meatheaded racists. But for “Carrie” director Kimberly Pierce she’s taking on something that might be her most provocative movie yet, which is saying something considering she’s the filmmaker behind transgendered drama “Boys Don’t Cry” and Iraq war flick “Stop-Loss.”
Deadline reports that Peirce will helm “The Brand,” a drama based on the true story of the Aryan Brotherhood. David Grann‘s 2004 New Yorker article “Annals Of Crime” served as the basis of the script by “The Messenger” scribe Alessandro Camon (who rewrote the first draft by Ric Roman Waugh) and it tells the story of the Brotherhood’s influence in the prison system, their networked organization orders hits and maintains order, even as U.S. prosecutors try take them down for their illegal activities. Perhaps like “American History X,” the film will told through the eyes of a new recruit and will also feature an older gang member who defects, disgusted at the threats made by the group against loved ones.
The article itself delves deep into the ranks, interviewing top member Michael McElhiney, describing initiation rituals, reading lists (Sun Tzu, Machiavelli and Nietzsche), the crimes outside prison walls, heroin use and the general history of the group and their growing presence behind bars.
Financing is still coming together for this, but it sounds like a helluva saga and a gripping piece of material. Here’s hoping some adventurous folks decide to back this one.