Hello from the COUNTER PUNCHED Production Team!
We are excited to announce that we are adapting Dwayne Vernon’s novel COUNTER PUNCHED into a feature film!
Attached to executive produce are Actress and Comedienne Leslie Jones of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, HBO's OUR FLAG MEANS DEATH, and COMING TO AMERICA 2 fame, and Writer and Producer David McMillan from notable projects such as Netflix’s MONSTER(S) series and Showtimes DEXTER: NEW BLOOD.
THE FILM
Boxer C’zar’s biggest fight meets him outside of the ring, struggling with self acceptance and his willingness to allow community and love into his life. This film is a poetic thriller filled with romance, revenge, karma, and discovering the courage to live one’s authentic and true life.
There is a desire for members of the LGBTQIA+ community to see themselves reflected on screens in nuanced and multi-dimensional ways. We want to create a film that speaks to the Black and LGBTQIA+ experience and that shows to the surrounding communities that the multifaceted people and their complex stories matter and are worthy of being told.
OUR GOALS
Our goal is to raise $200,000 for this film to put towards production, distribution and marketing and we would love for you to be a part of making this dream happen.
Dwayne and Kareem have adapted the novel into a screenplay and we are currently in the pre-production stage.
Everyone who donates from $1 to $200,000 will be acknowledged in the credits.
Counter Punched is the first in a series of 7 novels that we are planning to make into films and a TV series and we would be honored to have your support.
We want C’Zar’s journey to explode on the festival circuit and gain distribution from streaming services. We want the success of “Counter Punched” to be a spring board for future projects that highlight underrepresented and marginalized people so they can see themselves reflected on screen and that their lives and stories have value.
See you at the Movies!
The COUNTER PUNCHED Team
ADDITIONAL MATERIALS AND DETAILS ABOUT THE TEAM:
PITCH DECK
Counter Punched pitch deck linked here.
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
Leslie Jones , Actress, Comedienne, Writer
- Saturday Night Live
- Our Flag Means Death
- Ghostbusters
- Coming to America 2 and many more projects.
David McMillan , Executive Producer, Screenwriter, Playwright
- Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
- Monster(s): The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story
- Dexter: New Blood
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER
Kareem Ferguson , Director, Producer, Actor
- Gay Baby
- iMurder
- Sweetwater Road
- He Knows My Heart
Additional Details:
- This summer of 2025 he was accepted into the inaugural Tyler Perry Dream Collective training program for Directors .
Sheryl Lee Ralph in 'He Knows My Heart' Directed by Kareem
SCREENWRITER/PRODUCER
Dwayne Vernon, Novelist, Screenwriter, Veteran
- "Counter Punched"
- "Deception, Lies, and Truth"
- "The Master's Plan"
Dwayne Vernon, has written seven novels that challenge stereotypes about Black Gay men.
Co-organizers1
Kareem Ferguson
Organizer
Los Angeles, CA
Dwayne Vernon
Co-organizer