Don’t be fooled by the title. There is no peace in Rob Paz.
Written and directed by Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rob Paz is based on the 2014 biography by Jeff Hobbs titled, The Short, Tragic Life of Robert Peace: A Brilliant Young Man Who Left Newark for the Ivy League. The film tells the story of Robert Peace (Jay Will), who grew up in a poor area of Newark, New Jersey, and later graduated from Yale University on a scholarship. Peace led a double life in academia, earning degrees in molecular biophysics and biochemistry, while also selling marijuana to help his father (Ejiofor), who he believed had been wrongly imprisoned for murder.
In ET’s exclusive look at the trailer for Rob PazPeace’s moving true story is brought to the big screen in a grand way.
The trailer begins with Peace, who is almost 7 years old, showing off his impressive math skills to his father, Robert “Skeet” Douglas. When he was just 3 years old, Peace was known at daycare as “The Professor” for his vivid and inquisitive mind, according to Yale Alumni Magazine.
“That was the last day I remember being a kid,” Will narrates as his character, Peace.
The trailer then cuts to Skeet being arrested and convicted of a double homicide and sentenced to life in prison after gunshots are heard. However, Skeet claims he is innocent. In the aftermath, Peace’s mother, Jackie Peace (Maria J. Blige), insists that Peace go to college and “keep being brilliant.”
Peace does just that. He gets accepted into Yale. But it’s never that simple. Peace can’t fully focus on his studies because his father keeps asking for help. He sells marijuana to raise money for Skeet and is consequently drawn into a culture of illegal and dangerous drugs.
“God help me, I love that man. But he’s going to watch you burn to the ground trying to get him out,” Blige screams as her character, Jackie.
“You are pulled between this place and home,” he says. Camila Hair as Peace’s love interest, Naya Vazquez.
Will Peace be able to escape the demons of her past?
“I’m not proud of all the choices I made,” he says. “Was I prepared to risk it all?”
After his debut in Sundance Film Festival 2024Republic Pictures has confirmed North American theatrical distribution for Rob Paz.
Rob Paz starring Will, Ejiofor, Cabello and Blige, who also serves as executive producer alongside Morgan Earnest, Luke Rodgers, Jeff Skoll, Robert Kessel, Bruce Evans and Jamin O’Brien. Also starring Curt Morlaye, Caleb Eberhardt, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Michael Kelly and Mare Winningham.
“I am thrilled to partner with Republic Pictures to bring this extraordinary story to audiences,” Ejiofor said in a statement. “Jeff Hobbs’ powerful book about Rob’s life fused essential insights for me about race, housing, education, criminal justice, family and community. I can’t wait for audiences to experience Rob’s truly compelling life on screen, at a time when the complex nature of social mobility remains as important as ever.”
The film is produced by Antoine Fuqua, Rebecca Hobbs, Kat Samick, Andrea Calderwood, Jeffrey Soros, Alex Kurtzman, Jenny Lumet and Simon Horsman.
“Republic Pictures is committed to providing a platform for films that have the potential to spark conversations and impact culture,” Republic Pictures Chairman Dan Cohen said in a statement. “We are incredibly proud to work with Chiwetel Ejiofor and this esteemed production team to support such an important project.”
Rob Paz will open in theaters on Friday, August 16.
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