Lupita Nyong’o To Star, Produce Trevor Noah’s ‘Born A Crime’ Memoir Adaptation
Trevor Noah's memoir is about to become a movie and it will feature none other than Lupita Nyong'o as the lead star. Born a Crime is starting production shortly.
Nyong'o, who also stars in the barnstorming Black Panther, is set to play as the mother of the Daily Show host mother in the story. Noah's autobiography Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood was released in 2016 and became a best-seller. It won the James Thurber Prize for American Humor along with two NAACP Image Awards.
Born A Crime In The Works
Noah is producing the project himself through his Ark Angel Productions company along with Nyong'o. There is no director or writer attached as of yet.
Noah's mother is the central figure in the story, which has been described as simultaneously a love letter to her and a real-life account of the comedian's life growing up under apartheid rule in South Africa.
Due to Noah's father being white and his mother black, the comedian's conception took place at a time when mixed relations were punishable by months-long prison sentences.
The Heart Of The Story
The relationship between Noah and his mother is the heart of the book. At first, she kept him safe from government forces looking to take him away through various means before giving him everything possible in order to break a lifelong cycle of poverty and violence.
His mother grew up in a hut with 14 occupants. She was fiercely religious, taking her son to three churches each Sunday, prayer meetings on Tuesday, Bible study on Wednesday, as well as youth church on Thursday. She was shot in the head by Noah's stepfather in 2009 but survived the attack.
Nyong'o is a major catch for the movie as she is currently garnering rave reviews for her performance as the fiercely loyal Nakia in Black Panther. She won an Oscar for her performance in 12 Years a Slave back in 2014.
Nyong'o is also collaborating with her Black Panther co-star and longtime friend Danai Gurira on an adaptation of Americanah in which Gurira is tackling the script.
When I read @TrevorNoah's "Born A Crime," I could not put the book down. Excited to announce that I will be starring in and producing its feature film adaptation! #BornACrime A post shared by Lupita Nyong'o (@lupitanyongo) on Feb 21, 2018 at 2:31pm PST
