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Joe and Anthony Russo returned home for their return to directing after guiding Avengers: Endgame at the biggest box office in history. This is where they found cherry, the independent Apple TV + drama based on the novel by fellow Cleveland native Nico Walker.
The book was based on Walker’s own experiences and, with the film, and Spider ManTom Holland in the lead role, tells the story of a man falling in love, in his time as an army medic in the Afghan war, with his return and his uncontrolled PTSD leading to bank robbery, spending time and getting addicted to drugs.
The Russo Brothers sparked the book and its subject matter, especially in regards to the opioid crisis and its impact on their hometown. The book auction they ultimately won via their AGBO banner as part of a million dollar deal was limited by Walker’s available phone minutes as the author was still serving a period in prison. (he was sentenced to 11 years for a series of thefts in Cleveland and the surrounding suburbs but is now out).
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Then it was to screenwriter Angela Russo-Otstot, a veteran television writer (The shield) as well as Creative President at AGBO and sister of Joe and Anthony, who worked on the screenplay alongside Jessica Goldberg (The path). They separated the story into six distinct chapters, each shot in a different period style and feel, different ratios and looks.
This included making Cleveland the center of the narrative, with the filmmakers’ connection evident; Anthony Russo said the street where Cherry and Emily (Ciara Bravo) live is the street where he and his brother spent the first decade of their lives, even turning into a restaurant Joe worked called La Dolce Vita, and at the cemetery. Lake View nearby.
“There’s a lot of texture that we’ve been through our entire lives that found its way into the film’s storytelling,” he says.
cherry premieres in select theaters tomorrow and hits worldwide on Apple TV + on March 12.
Read Russo-Otstot and Goldberg’s screenplay, based on Walker’s novel, here:
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