Universal Pictures will produce the drama Memphis from writer-director Paul Greengrass, with production scheduled to start in June. We first reported on this project last month, when it was believed that Focus Features was in negotiations to distribute.

Memphis will center on the events leading up to the 1968 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee. Paul Greengrass wrote the script based off his own research. Scott Rudin, who produced two of this year's Oscar nominees for Best Picture (True Grit and The Fighter), is attached to produce.

With the Universal Pictures deal in place, Memphis seems to have a leg up on a few other projects which center on Martin Luther King. DreamWorks has an Untitled Martin Luther King Jr. Project in the works from writer Ronald Harwood and the Lee Daniels movie Selma is still seeking financing.

Since Memphis is slated to start this summer, expect casting announcements to be made in the near future.