Pro Basketball Player Jarnell Stokes Boards Documentary ‘How To Build A Truth Engine’, Thriller ‘Private Property’ & Brian Cox Pic ‘Skelly’ As EP

Matt Grobar
·2 min read
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EXCLUSIVE: Professional basketball player Jarnell Stokes has signed on to exec produce three indie features: Friedrich Moser’s doc How to Build a Truth Engine, writer-director Chadd Harbold’s thriller Private Property, and writer-director Matthew Greene-DeLange’s family film, Skelly.

How to Build a Truth Engine follows award-winning journalists in the fight against fake news, conspiracy theories and disinformation. Stokes is exec producing the film, which is currently in production, alongside Smokehouse Pictures’ George Clooney and Grant Heslov.

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Private Property is a remake of the 1960 noir film of the same starring Ashley Benson, Shiloh Fernandez, Logan Miller, Frank Whaley and Jay Pharoah, which Redwire Pictures is producing. The project is currently in post-production with plans for a 2022 release.

Also in post is Skelly, which centers on a boy struggling to come to terms with death following the loss of his grandfather. Brian Cox, Torrey DeVitto, John Palladino and Judah Abner Paul star in the film, which Walk Like A Duck Entertainment is producing.

In addition to these projects, Stokes recently signed on to exec produce the biopic BB King: The King of Blues with music mogul Vassal Benford. The project centered on King’s inspirational life story was penned by Marvin Williams. Previously announced projects Stokes has signed on to exec produce under his recently-launched Stoked Film Group banner include the horror comedy Slayers, starring Abigail Breslin, Thomas Jane and Malin Akerman, and the thriller Dig, starring Thomas Jane, Emile Hirsch and Liana Liberato. Both projects were directed by K. Asher Levin and are being produced in association with BondIt Media Capital.

Stokes is an athlete, entrepreneur, film producer and social activist who previously played for the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, Sioux Falls Skyforce, and Denver Nuggets. The two-time Olympic Gold Medalist currently plays for the Chinese Basketball Association’s Xinjiang Flying Tigers. Off the court, Stokes has branched out as an entrepreneur into several sectors, including sports brand management, food and wellness, cryptocurrency and philanthropy, among others. His journey as an activist against social injustice recently hit his hometown as he worked to get local policymakers to halt a proposed oil pipeline from cutting across predominantly Black neighborhoods in South Memphis. Stokes also sits as a board member for the Environmental Media Association, which has given him a platform to encourage green production and raise environmental awareness. He has served in recent years as a grassroots ambassador for the Hip Hop Caucus, and is partnering with the non-profit to create new projects across film and television.

Stokes is represented by Tammy Hunt of CSP Management.

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