EXCLUSIVE: Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance have renewed the overall deal with MTV Entertainment Studios for their Bassett Vance Productions, and have set Heist 88, starring Vance, as the first feature under the new pact.
Directed by Menhaj Huda (Kidulthood),the film, which is currently shooting in Chicago, reunites two-time Emmy winner Vance with his The People vs OJ Simpson: American Crime Story co-star Keesha Sharp and Bentley Green, who recently starred alongside him in AMC’s 61st Street.
In addition to Vance, Sharp and Green, Keith David, Xavier Clyde, Nican Robinson and Precious Way also star in Heist 88, which is inspired by true events and tells the unbelievable story of one of the largest bank heists ever to occur in the United States.
In the film, written by Dwayne Johnson-Cochran, Vance portrays Jeremy Horne, a criminal mastermind with an innate ability to convince anyone to do just about anything, who decides to pull one last job before going to prison in 1988. He recruits four young bank employees to steal close to $80 million dollars via a sophisticated takedown of the banking wire system.
“This character is inspired by a man who was able to convince a small group of young people who were at the lowest rungs of their bank to join him in committing one of the biggest crimes against the US banking system in this country’s history,” Vance said. “At its core, it’s an unapologetically compelling story that throws back to where we are today. What is the American dream and who does it work for?”
Sharp will play Bree Barnes, an elegant, smart, political consultant that possesses a criminal mind and is Jeremy’s love interest.
David will portray Buddha Ray (Raymond Oliver), a master safecracker and mentor to Jeremy.
Clyde will play Danny Pugh, a nerdy, comic book collector who is brilliant with numbers, data and loves research but has given up on his job at the bank.
Green will portray Marshall King, a cocky, energetic, house music DJ and Jeremy’s nephew.
Robinson will play Rick Windom, a young loyal bank employee working in “the back of the bank” for nearly six years with dreams of becoming a stockbroker.
Way will portray LaDonna Sanders, a beautiful, bright, bank employee who is ambitious but unseen at First Chicago Bank.
