Richard John’s Argo Films has boarded biopic Jojo: Finally Home, based on the memoir from champion dancer and Strictly Come Dancing professional Johannes Radebe.
Anthony Kimble’s development, financing and production company, Arrested Industries and Helena Spring Films, announced earlier this year that they had acquired the rights to the book.
As co-producer, Argo Films will facilitate the UK-side production, while Helena Spring Films will focus on the filming in South Africa.
Richard Johns’ production credits include Channel 4 series Chivalry (Steve Coogan, Sarah Solemani) and films such as two-time Academy Award-nominated Shadow of the Vampire (John Malkovich, Willem Dafoe), Like Minds (Toni Collette, Eddie Redmayne), The Calcium Kid (Orlando Bloom, Billie Piper) and Bill Kenwright’s Off the Rails(Dame Judi Dench, Kelly Preston, Ben Miller). His first project under the Argo banner was Academy Award-shortlisted The Shepherd (John Travolta) for Disney+, and through his Promethean Pictures label, established with American director E. Elias Merhige (Shadow of the Vampire), he has recently gone into pre-production on Howl, a feature film that has Dr Jane Goodall and Leonardo DiCaprio attached as executive producers.
Finally Home (working title), will closely follow the book in which Jojo shares the experiences and challenges he’s faced – from growing up in Zamdela, a township in South Africa, as a young boy with a passion for dance – and Barbies – (when everyone else was playing football or rugby), to becoming the star he is today. He started life in poverty, lost his father as a child and faced adversity from a deeply prejudiced community. However, his hard work and the fierce support of his mother and sister, as well as the backing of a dance coach who spotted his gift, helped transform his life and gave him a tool to express himself…leading to his life as an international celebrity with a huge adoring fanbase.
Richard Johns, founder of Argo Films, comments: “Johannes’ story is so full of joy and life that I found the project completely irresistible and therefore couldn’t be more thrilled to work with Anthony and Helena on bringing this uplifting memoir to the screen. They are an incredible pairing, used to working together, but have quickly made me feel welcome as part of the team. A truly collaborative approach, similar mindset, and ambition for this project will continue to ensure we complement each other and use our respective skills and contacts to take this wonderful project to the next stage.”
Anthony Kimble adds: “Richard brings a huge amount of development and production experience to Finally Home, as well as natural warmth, sensitivity and humour – all traits that align with Johannes and that are important to shine through in this film. Helena and I are thoroughly enjoying our collaboration with Argo, and as interest in this project ramps up, we will soon be in a position to make some further interesting announcements.”
Jon Creamer
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