Al Pacino, “Stranger Things” star Charlie Heaton and “Booksmart” actress Diana Silvers will all lead the cast of upcoming indie drama “Billy Knight,” which kicks off production this week in Los Angeles.
Alec Griffin Roth wrote the film and is making his directorial debut on the project, which is described as a love letter to Hollywood and cinema.
“Billy Knight” follows grad school students, Alex (Heaton) and Emily (Silvers), as they traverse their aspiring careers as filmmakers. Alex is simultaneously grappling with the grief of losing his father, a failed screenwriter. The only thing Alex’s father left him was a box of unfinished scripts and a handkerchief with the name “Billy Knight” embroidered on it. Consumed with the desire to discover his identity, Alex embarks on a magical Hollywood adventure to track down this mysterious and reclusive Billy Knight (Pacino) all while navigating the line between fiction and reality.
“Billy Knight” is being produced by by Autumn Bailey-Ford and Cameron Burnett of Prominent Productions, along with Sevier Crespo and Amanda Kiely. Executive producers on the film are Sarah Sarandos with Josh Clayton, Kirk Martin and Peter Bortel of Our World Films.
“Billy Knight is a love letter to cinema, a fantasy steeped in the history of this great art-form. It’s also the tale of two struggling artists, an introspective struggle of a young man trying to find his voice, and discovering what’s important in life,” Roth said in a statement. “Having the incomparable Al Pacino and the incredible talents Charlie Heaton and Diana Silvers in the film is a dream come true.”
“‘Billy Knight’ pays homage to the great artists and craftsmen that created this engine of creativity we call Hollywood,” Burnett said. “We started Prominent Productions with the mission to discover the artists of our generation like Alec, and to help amplify their unique visions. We couldn’t be more thrilled to embark on this journey with such an amazing cast and crew.”
Al Pacino most recently starred in “House of Gucci” from director Ridley Scott. Heaton was just seen in the fourth season of “Stranger Things” and on the film side he also starred in 2021’s “The Souvenir Part 2.” Silvers will be seen in the Netflix film “Lonely Planet” alongside Laura Dern and is also known for roles in “Ava,” Ma” and “Glass.”
CAA is representing the film. Alec Roth is independently represented by Keyun “Country” Parker, who is assisting in the production of the film. Al Pacino is represented by Josh Lieberman at CAA. Charlie Heaton is represented by The Gersh Agency, Brillstein Entertainment Partners, and Sloan, Offer, Weber & Dern, LLP. Diana Silvers is represented by WME, Entertainment360, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman, Wertheimer Mandelbaum, Morris Bernstein Trattner & Klein.
