Director Kimberly Peirce has never been one to shy away from tricky subject matter. In 1999 she made her feature debut with Boys Don't Cry, a biopic about the tragically short life of transgendered teen Brandon Teena. Next came Stop Loss in which she tackled the titular controversial military policy that forces soldiers to stay enlisted past their initial contract. This fall will see her ballsy remake of the Stephen King thriller Carrie, and then Peirce will move from Carrie White to white supremacists for The Brand.
Deadline reports Peirce has been picked to direct the drama that is named for the Aryan Brotherhood's infamous prison gang. The script by penned by The Messenger's scribe Alessandro Camon and Snitch writer-director Ric Roman Waugh is based on the 2004 New Yorker article by David Grann. The original article, also called "The Brand," followed U.S. Attorney Gregory Jessner's quest to bring down the gang that thrived despite being behind bars, because of their strict hierarchy, merciless violence, and coded communications. The movie will show the rise of The Brand through the eyes of a young recruit who will rise through the racist gang's ranks, then consider defecting.
Outside of prison walls, The Brand has managed to operate branches of their hate group/organized crime syndicate that deal in drugs, prostitution, and murder-for-hire, guided by Brotherhood members who are in high security facilities, and often solitary confinement. Inside, their small numbers are responsible for a disproportionately high number of inmate murders. In the film, one of these members will be a burly longtime member who grows disgusted by the gang, and quits, knowing that doing so puts a target on his back.
The Brand is now seeking financial backing.
