Sean Connery replaced with Black lesbian in hotly-anticipated Finding Forrester TV adaptation
Sean Connery’s character in Finding Forrester will be replaced with a Black lesbian in an NBC television adaptation (YouTube)
The late Sean Connery’s character in the 2000 film Finding Forrester will be replaced with a Black lesbian writer in an upcoming NBC television adaptation.
The original film, directed by Gus Van Sant, told the story of a teenager called James Wallace (Rob Brown) who befriends the reclusive writer William Forrester (Sean Connery).
The much-loved film is now set to be adapted into an NBC series, with Connery’s character of William Forrester replaced with a Black lesbian writer, Deadline reports.
The series is being written by The Chi co-executive producers TJ Brady and Rasheed Newson, and will examine “the cost of success and the price of redemption through the unique and between two gifted Black writers”, according to reports.
In the NBC adaptation, the aspiring writer will be a homeless orphan, while his mentor will be a reclusive woman who had her career ruined by a public scandal.
The series will be executive produced by Brady and Newson alongside NBA star Stephen Curry and Erick Peyton, while Ti Story will direct.
It will be produced by Curry’s Unanimous Media as Sony Pictures Television.
Finding Forrester series comes just weeks after Sean Connery’s death.
The new series is part of a deal Curry made with Sony Pictures in 2018, media reports have said. His company, Unanimous Media, aims to put a spotlight on diverse voices and tell stories that deserve to be heard.
The original film also starred F. Murray Abraham, Anna Paquin, Busta Rhymes and Rob Brown, and went on to gross $80 million at the box office when it was released on 22 December, 2000.
Finding Forrester was later ranked as one of the best films of the decade by acclaimed film-critic Richard Roeper.
News of the television adaptation of Finding Forrester comes just weeks after Connery’s death.
The Scottish actor died in the Bahamas on 31 October, aged 90. News of his death led to a huge outpouring of grief from famous figures across the world.
