Robert Teitel and State Street Pictures to Produce Alongside LLeju
February 8, 2011 – William O. Perkins, founder and President of LLeju Productions announced today that they are financing and producing THE BAYTOWN DISCO, which follows the foibles of three redneck brothers who get more than they bargained for after agreeing to help a woman get her son back from his seemingly-abusive father. First-time director Barry Battles will helm the film which is based on a script he co-wrote with Griffin Hood (I Ran Against Us, Mr. Extion). Robert Teitel (Notorious, Men of Honor, Barbershop Franchise, Soulfood) and George Tillman under their State Street Pictures banner will produce with LLeju Productions who optioned the script and control the rights. Mary Vernieu at Betty Mae is casting for the pic which is based on a script that was listed on 2009’s “Black List†of Hollywood’s top unproduced projects.
“We found Barry and Griffin’s script to be edgy, fun and entertaining, which is synonymous with the LLeju brand. This is the ideal project for us to partner with Bob and George.†said Perkins.
Teitel said “After meeting Bill, we’re very much looking forward to collaborating with LLeju, and we hope this leads to future projects. We’re confident Barry and Girffin’s script will find commercial appeal with audiences everywhere.â€
THE BAYTOWN DISCO will be the first collaboration between LLeju Productions and State Street Pictures. Production starts in early May in Louisiana.
THE BAYTOWN DISCO will follow LLeju’s upcoming theatrical release of the Paz Vega starrer Cat Run on April 1st and The Chameleon, which hits theaters this spring and stars Ellen Barkin and Famke Janssen.
ABOUT LLEJU PRODUCTIONS
Founded in 2008, LLeju Productions (pronounced “yay-whoâ€) is a filmed entertainment production, financing and distribution company dedicated to stirring the emotions of audiences worldwide with unconventional and thought provoking material. Regardless of the genre – if a project is unconventional, risky or thought provoking – LLeju welcomes the opportunity to be “offbeat.†LLeju’s past films include After.Life, starring Liam Neeson, Justin Long, Christina Ricci and Josh Charles; Unthinkable, a psychological thriller which starred Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Sheen, Brandon Routh and Carrie-Anne Moss; and Gangster’s Paradise: Jerusalema, about a young hoodlum’s rise from a small-time criminal to a powerful crime entrepreneur during the turbulent years before and after the fall of apartheid.
ABOUT STATE STREET PICTURES
Producer Bob Teitel & Director / Producer George Tillman have been partners in their multimedia production company State Street Pictures for over 22 years.
Their feature films include: SOUL FOOD, which grossed over $43 million domestically; MEN OF HONOR, which starred Oscar winning actors Robert De Niro and Cuba Gooding Jr.; BARBERSHOP and BARBERSHOP II: BACK IN BUSINESS; ROLL BOUNCE, a dramatic comedy starring rapper/actor Bow Wow, Chi McBride, and Nick Cannon; NOTORIOUS, the biopic about the hip hop artist Notorious B.I.G.; and HUMBOLDT PARK starring John Leguizamo, Debra Messing, and Alfred Molina.
State Street Pictures’ upcoming slate includes PHENOM starring Chris Brown; COYOTE SEASON with Malik Bader directing; BUA: THE BEAT OF URBAN ART, which tells the story of the birth of hip hop through a mixture of live action and state of the art animation; CHAMPIONS, an urban comedy; SAMURAI, an action adventure film shot in the style of 300; and BOBBY MARTINEZ, a true life story of an LA Gang member who quit his dangerous life and became a world champion surfer.
The company has also made their mark in television with “Soul Food,†which was the longest running African American themed television drama with 75 episodes on Showtime Networks. Other projects include “Barbershop” the series and a comedy special entitled: “The Brandon T. Jackson Show.â€
State Street Pictures has a commercially deep development slate with over 50 feature film projects and 15 TV projects in development with top directors, writers and talent.