Writer, producer, and director Rohit Karn Batra’s The Film Compartment is partnering with Sean Penn’s Projected Picture Works (PPW) for his upcoming drama The Gun on Second Street. Guy J. Louthan of Ransom Films will produce with Batra. Rikin Shah, U.S. Congressman Eric Swalwell, and Projected Picture Works partners Sean Penn, John Ira Palmer, and John Wildermuth will executive produce .Production on the film is set to begin in early June.
The film is an allegory of the gun crisis in the United States as it follows two Pittsburgh police partners and best friends who are called to an uneventful domestic violence dispute on Second Street. When Officer TJ Meadows III accidentally kills his partner, Kevin Cooper, he is left traumatized. Years later, no longer a cop, he returns to Pittsburgh and falls for Kevin’s widow, Kacie, as they both confront their painful past.
“We’re pleased to be a part of The Gun on Second Street,” said Projected Picture Works’ Sean Penn, John Ira Palmer, and John Wildermuth in a joint statement. “We gravitate toward grounded stories about the complexities of everyday lives intertwined. Rohit’s screenplay is a great example of that, incorporating universal themes of trauma and redemption. As a director, Rohit has ambitious plans for bringing this story to life visually. We look forward to being aboard the journey.”
“I am thrilled to have the incredibly experienced team at Projected Picture Works join us in bringing The Gun of Second Street to screen” said Rohit Karn Batra. “Their passion for authentic, character-driven storytelling aligns perfectly with the film’s DNA, and I couldn’t ask for better partners in the business to executive produce and realize this film for audiences aching for incredible cinematic experiences.”