Film Producer Harvey Weinstein Talks Working With Jay Z & Securing The Rights To Trayvon Martin’s Story

“HE’S ONE OF THE MOST BRILLIANT MEN I KNOW”

(AllHipHop News) It was announced last fall that Hip Hop mogul Shawn “Jay Z” Carter signed a deal with Harvey Weinstein’s The Weinstein Company film studio.

The partnership established Jay Z as a producer for several movies and television projects including Spike’s critically acclaimed docu-series about Kalief Browder.

Weinstein did an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, and the Oscar-winning producer discussed how he got into business with the Brooklyn-raised rapper.

“We’ve know each other socially and we’ve always talked about doing something together. I think we understand each other,” said Weinstein. “People look at Jay Z and they don’t say, ‘That’s a well-read guy,’ and people look at me and think the same thing, but we’re both extremely well-read. That’s the surprise of the whole thing, and it’s what makes it work. He’s one of the most brilliant men I know.”

The two entertainment heavyweights have also acquired the rights to Rest in Power: The Enduring Life of Trayvon Martin, a book written by the late teenager’s parents Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin.

“Jay Z looked at the parents and said: ‘I’m responsible if this is no good. I will do whatever it takes because they’re gonna hold me up on this. I’m not gonna let you down, and I’m not gonna let me down.’ End of conversation,” stated Weinstein.

Rest In Power – along with Lisa Bloom’s Suspicion Nation: The Inside Story of the Trayvon Martin Injustice and Why We Continue to Repeat It – will be used to create a docuseries and a feature film about Martin’s life and death.