Ride around Shining with Netflix
Netflix is making a feature film version of Chris Leslie-Hynan’s novel Ride Around Shining, which Rodney Barnes will adapt. Jonah Hill’s Strong Baby Productions is producing.
The Harper-published novel tells the provocative story of a young white chauffeur and his wealthy Black employer, a professional basketball player; a discomfiting portrait of envy and obsession.
Hill, Matt Dines, LaKeith Stanfield and Colin Stark are producing, with Ali Goodwin executive producing. Leslie-Hynan is an associate producer on the project.
Barnes has several other projects in the works including a miniseries about the fall and comeback of Tiger Woods. He’s also writing the script for an original creature feature for New Regency with Jordan Voigt-Roberts to direct, and working with Levantine Films on the TV adaptation of his bestselling graphic novel series Killadelphia: Sins of the Father, which he will both write and produce. His previous credits include the Peabody-winning series The Boondocks and Hulu’s Wu-Tang: An American Saga, Marvel’s Runaways and the seminal sitcom Everybody Hates Chris.
Barnes launched his own comic studio and publishing imprint, Zombie Love Studios with the goal of creating a space dedicated to storytelling from BIPOC perspectives in a format where they typically aren’t told – making way for more nuanced, honest depictions of Black culture within the medium. Barnes and Zombie Love Studios are set to release several titles in 2022 including: Tales From the Crip, for which Barnes has teamed with Snoop Dogg to create; Blacula, a graphic novel adaptation of MGM’s classic 1970s film; Crownsville, an epic ghost story set in America’s first Black mental asylum; and Florence and Normandie, an alien apocalyptic saga co-written by Barnes and actor/rapper Xzibit.
Among Barnes’ most recent titles are Army of Darkness, James Bond Himeros, Marvel/Lucasfilm’s Lando: Double or Nothing, Lion Forge’s Quincredible, and a one-shot Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters focused on droid bounty hunter IG-88. Additionally, Barnes is among the top creators who have expanded their work via Substack; allowing Barnes to release brand new titles for fans, as well as further expand his Killadelphia and Nita Hawes Universe with new runs of his popular Nita Hawes Nightmare Blog, Elysium Gardens and, most recently, 20 Degrees Past Rigor.