- Share this article on Facebook
- Share this article on Twitter
- Share this article on Flipboard
- Share this article on Email
- Show additional share options
- Share this article on Linkedin
- Share this article on Pinit
- Share this article on Reddit
- Share this article on Tumblr
- Share this article on Whatsapp
- Share this article on Print
- Share this article on Comment
Unlocking the Truth, the teenage Brooklyn band who signed a $1.7 million contract with Sony Music, including a $60,000 advance on a two-album deal with an option for four more records, will be the subjects of a feature documentary.
PHOTOS The Scene at Coachella 2014
Black Label Media and SeeThink Films will finance and produce the movie about the band formed by 13-year-olds Malcolm Brickhouse and Alec Atkins with 12-year-old Jarad Dawkins, the youngest group ever to perform on the main stage at Coachella. The band was also featured on the 2014 Vans Warped tour and opened for Guns N’ Roses in Las Vegas and Queens of the Stone Age. Unlocking the Truth began with founding band members Brickhouse (electric guitar) and Dawkins (drums) recruiting their best friend from preschool, Atkins, and teaching him how to play bass. A clip of their impromptu Times Square performance is included below.
“Having previously made a short film on Unlocking the Truth’s early history (with K-MB New York), SeeThink is excited to collaborate with Black Label Media to go further into the band’s story,” said producer Tom Davis, who is working together with Andrew Neel for the upcoming film. Black Label Media partners Molly Smith, Thad Luckinbill and Trent Luckinbill announced their involvement in the project after being inspired by the short documentary.
“The eighth graders are honest and sincere and represent individuality and incredible talent for their age,” said Smith. “The piece spoke to us, as it has a great message about being yourself and following your dreams, regardless of the hurdles one must overcome.”
The deal was brokered by CAA and Loeb on behalf of BLM and will be executive produced by Ellen Schwartz and Alan Sacks of Jonas Enterprises.
Directed by Luke Meyer (New World Order, Darkon), the film will document the ups and downs the kids encounter in both their personal lives and their careers.
“These three boys are coming of age at the exact moment their band is being introduced to the entire world. This film is a picture of that unique moment,” Meyer said. The group is captured on their first trip to Los Angeles, which made headlines after the band successfully signed a deal with The Cherry Party, a newly formed record label within Sony Music Entertainment.
STORY A First-Time Coachella Fan’s Diary: Three Days in the Desert
Black Label Media has several projects in active development and is in preproduction on several films. The company’s upcoming film The Good Lie, financed and produced with Imagine Entertainment and to be distributed by Warner Bros., is premiering at the Toronto Film Festival. Directed by Philippe Falardeau, it stars Reese Witherspoon and was inspired by true events surrounding the Sudanese civil war.
Also currently in production is Sicario for director Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners), with Emily Blunt and Benicio Del Toro. Starting preproduction will be the new film from director Jean Marc Valle (Dallas Buyer’s Club), Demolition, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Naomi Watts. BLM is also producing and financing Salinger’s War, which will be the directorial debut for Danny Strong (writer of Lee Daniels’ The Butler and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay) which will begin filming this fall.
THR Newsletters
Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day