EXCLUSIVE: Michael Peña and Emmy nominee Anthony Ramos are set to star in Free Agent, a new thriller reteaming the producers and Oscar-winning writers of BlacKkKlansman.
Script is by Charlie Wachtel and David Rabinowitz, who after telling the story of Ron Stallworth, the African American police officer who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan, have set their sights on another gripping true-life tale, reteaming with Shaun Redick and Yvette Yates Redick of Impossible Dream Entertainment, who are producing alongside Roberto Urbina, Jason Cherubini, and Martin Ramos of Colombia’s Synestesys.
Free Agent tells the story of sports agent Bartolo “Bart” Hernandez (Peña) and his unlikely partner Julio Estrada (Ramos), whose mission to help Cuba’s greatest athletes pursue the American Dream plunged them into an international world of organized crime, corruption, and the volatile politics between Cuba and the United States.
Cuban-born Hernandez has lived baseball his whole life. A full-scholarship standout at McNeese State University, he was drafted by the Montreal Expos (now the Washington Nationals) before becoming a certified MLBPA agent. When signing Cuban talent became one of the most politically charged deals in sports, Hernandez was the agent at the center of it, landing record contracts for players who became MLB impact stars, including two Rookies of the Year and an MVP.
Hernandez’s story made national headlines when he and Estrada were convicted on conspiracy and alien smuggling charges in Miami federal court, revealing the dangerous lengths Cuban athletes and those helping them would go to in pursuit of the American Dream. Having served his time, Hernandez is back doing what he does best: representing, coaching, and training the next generation of big-league talent.
Free Agent began as a spec from Wachtel and Rabinowitz titled Bolsa Negra, which made the 2018 Black List.
Wachtel said, “This is a story we’ve been dying to share with the world. It’s an underdog tale about immigration, freedom, and the meaning – and cost – of the American Dream. We believe Bart’s incredible story has the unique potential to resonate across cultures and borders.”
Antonio Negret, a Colombian filmmaker who’s worked on shows like The Lincoln Lawyer and directed a number of features, takes the reins as director here. XYZ Films is exec producing the film and handling global sales, co-repping domestic rights with Impossible Dream Entertainment, whose Shaun Reddick told us, “Collaborating with Charlie and David on BlacKkKlansman was one of the great experiences of my career, and I’ve been hoping for the right story to team up again. FREE AGENT is it. Just as they did with Ron Stallworth in BlacKkKlansman, they’ve found in Bart Hernandez a remarkable real-life character whose story is as riveting and wildly entertaining as it is inspiring. It’s the kind of story you can’t believe is true.”
Yvette Yates Redic added, “Working with Michael Peña and Anthony Ramos on FREE AGENT is a dream come true. They’re two of the most talented, charismatic actors working today, and as a Latina producer, it means so much to see them bring this story to life.”
Peña joins after work on Gore Verbinski’s Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die, A Working Man opposite Jason Statham, and Peacock’s All Her Fault. Upcoming, he has the Amazon films Subversion and Judgment Day, plus the starry indies Tumor and Turpentine. He is repped by Entertainment 360, CAA, and Rick Genow of GGSSC.
Coming off roles in Ryan Murphy’s FX series The Beauty and The Shards, Ramos is repped by UTA, Range Media Partners, and Paul Hastings.
Negret is repped by Range Media Partners, Paradigm, and Feig Finkel; Wachtel and Rabinowitz by WME, Brillstein, and Behr Abramson Levy; and Impossible Dream Entertainment by Raskin Gorham Anderson Law. Production and finance legal is being handled by Gary Raskin and Dustin Sloan of Raskin Gorham Anderson Law and Stephanie Avalos of Andersen Law.