Al Pacino Joins Stranger Things Star For New Movie
Al Pacino will join Charlie Heaton from Stranger Things in the new movie Billy Knight.
This article is more than 2 years old
Legendary actor Al Pacino has joined the cast of Billy Knight. The indie drama marks the feature film debut of writer-director Alec Griffen Roth. The Hollywood veteran will appear opposite Charlie Heaton of Stanger Things fame and Diana Silvers who previously appeared in Space Force. The movie is scheduled to begin shooting in Los Angeles this week.
The Al Pacino starrer follows grad school students Alex and Emily, as they traverse their aspiring careers as filmmakers. But Alex is also grappling with the grief of losing his father who happened to be a failed screenwriter. The only thing his dad left him was a box of unfinished scripts and a handkerchief with the name Billy Knight embroidered on it.
So he embarks on a magical Hollywood adventure to track down Billy Knight while navigating the line between fiction and reality.
Speaking about the project, Roth told Deadline that Billy Knight is a love letter to cinema and a fantasy steeped in the history of the filmmaking art form. “It’s also the tale of two struggling artists, an introspective struggle of a young man trying to find his voice, and discovering what’s important in life,” Roth told the publication.
He added that having the incomparable Al Pacino and the incredibly talented Charlie Heaton and Diana Silvers in the movie is a dream come true.
The Al Pacino project is produced by Autumn Bailey-Ford and Cameron Burnett of Prominent Productions as well as Sevier Crespo and Amanda Kiely. It is produced by Sarah Sarandos, Josh Clayton, Kirk Martin, and Peter Bortel of Our World Films.
With such a stacked cast, Billy Knight is sure to be a hit. In addition to Stranger Things, Charlie Heaton has starred in Marrowbone and The New Mutants, while Diana Silvers appeared in Booksmart and Birds of Paradise.
Al Pacino’s extensive list of credits includes The Godfather, Dog Day Afternoon, Scarface, Heat, The Irishman, and Angels in America. The 82-year-old was most recently seen in the Ridley Scott-directed House of Gucci. The biographical crime drama is based on Sara Gay Forden’s 2001 book The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed. The film also featured Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Jared Leto, Jeremy Irons, and Salma Hayek.
The story follows the ambitious Patrizia as she romances Maurizio Gucci and marries her way into the dynastic Italian luxury label. The family business holds little allure for bookish Maurizio, especially since the real power is held by his father Rodolfo and uncle Aldo – played by Al Pacino.
If an outsider like Patrizia wants to be a true force at Gucci, she’ll have to pit the family against each other. Eventually, she finds herself at odds with Maurizio and her rage soon turns murderous.
Ridley Scott’s House of Gucci had its world premiere at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square in London in 2021. Meanwhile, the release date for Al Pacino’s latest project, Billy Knight, currently has no release date. The actor is also co-producing the Johnny Depp-helmed biopic Modigliani, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
