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Actor Matthew McConaughey appeared Tuesday night on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" to talk about his new movie, "White Boy Rick," the story of convicted Detroit cocaine trafficker Richard Wershe Jr.
McConaughey plays Richard Wershe Sr., the teen informant's dad.
Richie Merritt and Matthew McConaughey in the film. (Sony Pictures photo by Scott Garfield)
Seven preview screenings are Thursday at Emagine Theaters in Novi, Rochester Hills, Canton and Macomb Township. (Times and ticket links are here.) The R-rated film opens Friday at 2,500 screens nationally.
In his five-minute NBC appeareance (video below), McConaughey talks about Wershe's case, misstating a few facts.
He says Wershe was initially imprisoned under a state law that calls for a life sentence for anyone caught with 650 grams of any drug. The law, since overturned, only applied to cocaine and heroin.
He also states that Wershe just got paroled about six months ago from Michigan after about 27 years in prison. He actually spent nearly 30 years in a state prison and was paroled in July 2017.
After being paroled from Michigan, Wershe was transferred to a Florida prison to serve time for being part of a stolen car ring while he was behnd bars there under the witness protection program. He's expected to be paroled at the end of 2020.
