News > Dunbar of "Prison Break" to Produce, Direct "Pastor Brown"

Rockmond Dunbar, known to "Prison Break" fans as Benjamin "C-Note" Franklin, is currently producing and directing an indie drama down in Atlanta called "Pastor Brown." Rhonda Freeman-Baraka (whom IMDb is unfamiliar with as of this writing) penned the screenplay, which is described by The Hollywood Reporter as "a twist on the prodigal son story. It follows a wayward pastor's daughter, Jesse Brown, as she returns from a life as an exotic dancer to make amends with her family and teen son and eventually lead her father's parish, becoming Pastor Brown."

It seems lately that a number of African American-oriented films are based around the idea of returning to the fold or getting back to one's proverbial roots. Just within the past two months we've seen "Meet the Browns" and "Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins," both of which involved absent family factions reuniting with their Georgian kin. If some film studies major out there still hasn't worked out his or her final thesis, consider this one a freebie. 

Dunbar will also appear in the film as Amir, "a Muslim man who becomes the love interest of Brown, played by Salli Richardson Whitfield ('I Am Legend')."

Nicole Ari Parker, Keith David (yes!), Michael B. Jordan, Michael Beach, Tisha Campbell-Martin, Tasha Smith, Dondre T. Whitfield, and Ernie Hudson (double yes!) also star. In addition, the film features guest appearances by R&B singers Monica, Angie Stone and India.Arie as well as former Olympic track star Carl Lewis and the NBA's Charles Oakley. Tyler Perry does not seem to have anything to do with the productin. The fact that he's worked with Dunbar and Smith before, the fact that he's made movies with similar themes, and the fact that his studio is in Atlanta are all purely coincidental (though somehow I doubt the marketing department is going to see it that way). 

-David Morgan