Jay Z and Will Smith to tell Emmett Till story (Photo : REUTERS/FRANK POLICH/FILES)
Rapper Jay-Z and Hollywood celebrity Will Smith will come together with producer Aaron Kaplan to bring about a mini series for HBO which will centre around the brutal murder of an African American teenager during the 1950's at the height of the civil rights movement in the United States.
The series is to tell the story of young teenager Emmett Till who was tragically murdered for asking a white American woman Carolyn Bryant on a date, according to Variety.
According to the publication the woman at the time who was 21 was a co-owner of a grocery store in Mississippi. As the story goes Till was murdered by Bryant's husband and his half brother J.W. Milam.
The boy who was 14 at the time, was taken away by Bryant's husband and Milam and had one of his eyes gouged out and shot in the head, with his body thrown to the currents of the Tallahatchie River.
The family of the young boy had an open casket enabling those who gathered a glimpse at the gruesome attack on Till's body, according to Vanity Fair.
Further it was reported that while Bryant's husband and half-brother were acquitted, they later confessed to the crime.However, it resulted in a double jeopardy situation which meant they could not be tried for a second time.
For the "Run This Town" rapper, the mini-series will be a homecoming event as the cable channel recently aired his and wife Beyonce's concert special titled "On the Run Tour: Beyoncé and Jay Z."
According to the publication the entertainment industry's A-list duo immediately jumped at the opportunity to tell the Emmett story when Kaplan first pitched the idea.
The Hollywood heavy weights' last collaboraton came last year when they produced "Annie" but the six part mini series according to reports will have a more dark, indepth and emotive storyline in keeping with HBO's leanings towards programmes which reflect social issues.
