 James Earl Jones, Cicely Tyson, and Lou Gossett, Jr. would headline Krishna Shah's second feature film, "The River Niger".In May 1973, the film rights to Joseph A. Walker's Tony and Pulitzer-winning Broadway play "The River Niger" were purchased from The Negro Ensemble Company at a price "well into six figures," by veteran producer Sidney Beckerman.After rejections by all the major studios and larger independent financiers, Beckerman contacted Isaac L. Jones for help.