'Just Mercy' will premiere first in Montgomery ahead of the nation

Safiya Charles | Montgomery Advertiser

"Just Mercy," the Hollywood film based on the book of the same name that follows Equal Justice Initiative founder Bryan Stevenson’s attempt to free a man wrongly condemned to die on death row, will premiere publicly in Montgomery on Dec. 20, five days before its limited release, and a month ahead of the nation.

“We’ve actually just made a deal with Warner Brothers to have screenings in the city that day so that Montgomery will get to see it before anybody else does, which I think is only appropriate,” Stevenson said.

The movie stars Jamie Foxx as Walter McMillian, a black business owner wrongly convicted in the murder of a young white woman from Monroeville, less than two hours south of Montgomery.

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Michael B. Jordan plays a young Stevenson, navigating the throes of an inequitable justice system and knocking against a wall of indifference as he attempts to manage an ever-increasing docket of death row cases. Brie Larson plays Eva Ansley who worked with Stevenson on starting EJI and a longtime advocate for prison reform in Alabama.

Launching the film in Montgomery ahead of Christmas Day, when it will be released in a handful of select cities, and its Jan. 10 nationwide premiere has special significance.

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Stevenson has run the nonprofit legal defense clinic working to end mass incarceration out of Montgomery since 1989, when it was still known as the Alabama Capital Representation Resource Center.

“These will be the first public screenings in the country, though we’re still pushing for an earlier full release here. Hopefully we’ll have some special guests in town for that,” Stevenson said.

EJI is currently considering locations where the advance public screenings will be held.

In 2018, EJI opened the National Memorial for Peace and Justice and the Legacy Museum, which have drawn hundreds of thousands of people to Montgomery.

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Safiya Charles at (334) 306-5704 or SCharles@montgome.gannett.com