Black Bird: One Man's Freedom Hides in Another Man's Darkness

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His book In with the Devil: A Fallen Hero, a Serial Killer, and a Dangerous Bargain for Redemption was adapted in 2022 as a highly acclaimed Apple TV+ miniseries starring Taron Egerton and Paul Walter Hauser. The son of a decorated Chicago-area police chief, Keene, played by Taron Egerton in Black Bird, was arrested in 1996 and sentenced to 10 years in prison for his part in a large-scale drug operation.

A balding man with a powerful stature but a soft voice, Steinback is not just known for his work as a trial lawyer. I couldn't stop thinking that the "wannabe" role he played with the local cops allowed him to hide in plain sight. I read that you actually initially weren't interested in this material until you realized you could make it about the weaponization of the male gaze. Given Jimmy's natural charming and charismatic personality and gift for talking, he was offered an opportunity for a fully commuted sentence with a clean record and no conditions by federal authorities.Believing he’d uncovered sufficient evidence to fulfill his end of the deal and secure his release, Keene blew his cover and stopped pretending to be Hall’s friend.

One of the most coveted designations in the book industry, the Kirkus Star marks books of exceptional merit.He's one of those guys who thinks he's more intelligent, more cunning, more handsome and more likeable than he actually is. If you had shown up in my hometown of Kankakee, Illinois, and asked about me in the early nineties, most people would have told you that Jimmy Keene could do no wrong. In 1996, charming drug and arms dealer James "Jimmy" Keene, is arrested and sentenced to ten years in prison without bail. Co-star Ray Liotta, who passed away in May of 2022, was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor as “Big Jim Keene”.

Only this time he was accompanied by Ken Temples, a benign, balding FBI agent Jimmy hadn’t seen before.Just another smalltown boy, living off the memories of his few glory years, who couldn't make it work in the big city - so he fabricates an autobiography that's more about his fantasy than his reality. So I built the show to drive to that confrontation, to drive to the moment when Jimmy wanted something that is illogical.

Currently, Keene owns a highly successful private real estate development business and several other businesses. The Apple TV+ series based on Jimmy Keene’s autobiographical novel featured the talents of Paul Walter Hauser, who portrayed serial killer Larry Hall, earning Walter Houser a nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

One never thinks for a minute that Keene will ever be in real danger or have any difficulty getting Hall to tell him anything he wants. His specialty is in the court of last resort—the various proceedings that come after a guilty verdict or plea. In the process, he would learn as much about his own inner demons as Hall’s—an experience that would sear his soul far more than a lengthy sentence—and help him emerge from prison a truly changed man. Pointing to the thick folder, Beaumont added, “We think he’s responsible for more than twenty other killings.