Blackfilm.com correspondent Ellen J. Wanjiru sits with Super Bowl champion and two-time Pro Bowler Vernon Davis to discuss his crossover from the NFL to Hollywood, being involved in 9 different projects since the announcement of his retirement in 2020, founding two production companies — Reel 85 and Between the Lines Productions, and what it takes to conquer fear and pursue your passion. Watch interview below!
Davis recently produced his first film, which he also stars in, A Message from Brianna — a supernatural horror thriller also starring Asia’h Epperson (Straight Outta Compton, Dear Best Friend and Greenleaf), which debuted at the 2021 American Black Film Festival in November.
Written and directed by DeShon Hardy, the film follows Leonard Taylor (Davis) and his wife, Kathy (Epperson), who are thrilled to move into their first home, an old house on a rural road once owned by Leonard’s grandparents. At first, it seems like an idyllic place to raise their two-year-old daughter, Brianna. That is until the couple discovers that their baby girl is taking part in a series of late-night supernatural events, and soon she becomes a terrifying messenger from the other side. Watch trailer below.
Over the past year, Davis has filmed several movies, including one with John Malkovich (The Chariot) and two with Bruce Willis (Gasoline Alley and A Day to Die). He’s currently filming a serial killer thriller Muti, in which he’ll play the lone antagonist alongside Cole Hauser (Yellowstone) and Oscar winner Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby). George Gallo (Bad Boys) is directing the movie, which follows Detective Boyd (Hauser) as he hunts down a serial killer named Randoku (Davis), who kills based on a brutal South African tribal ritual known as Muti, in which someone is killed so their body parts can be used in medicinal witchcraft. Boyd recruits the help of Professor Mackles (Freeman), an African anthropologist who hides an unspeakable secret. The line between sanity and madness thins as Boyd goes deeper into the Randoku’s world.
The script for Muti hails from six writers – Bob Bowersox, Jennifer Lemmon, Francesco Cinquemani, Giorgia Iannone, Luca Giliberto and Ferdinando Dell’Omo. It is based on a story by Joe Lemmon and Cinquemani. Producers are Joe Lemmon of Black Diamond Films, Andrea Iervolino, Monika Bacardi and Danielle Maloni of Iervolino & Lady Bacardi Entertainment SPA, and Bret Saxon of Wonderfilm Media. Executive producers are Richard Salvatore, David E. Ornston, Nate Adams, Jeff Bowler and Luca Matrundola. Production is currently underway in Jackson, Mississippi before moving to Italy.
Vernon Davis is a former American football tight end. He played college football at Maryland, and was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers sixth overall in the 2006 NFL Draft. In 2009, Davis co-led the NFL in touchdown receptions and consequently earned his first of two career Pro Bowl selections.
In the 2011–12 NFL playoffs with the 49ers, Davis caught the game-winning touchdown pass from Alex Smith against the New Orleans Saints, referred to as “The Catch III”. In 2015, Davis was traded to the Denver Broncos, where he won Super Bowl 50 with the team over the Carolina Panthers. He then signed with the Washington Redskins in 2016, where he played until his retirement following the 2019 season.
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