HBO plans to shoot a movie based on The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. Oprah Winfrey will play Henrietta’s daughter, Deborah Lacks.
Here’s more from Deadline: “This has been a passion project for the TV mogul and Oscar-nominated actress who six years ago teamed with Six Feet Under and True Blood creator Alan Ball to produce a feature-length adaptation of Rebecca Skloot’s then-recently published nonfiction bestseller though HBO Films, which acquired the book for the duo. Winfrey has now upped her involvement by committing to star in the movie.”
USA Today reports that George C. Wolfe adapted Skloot’s popular nonfiction book and wrote the script. Wolfe has also signed on as the director. Skloot will serve as a co-executive producer. At this point in time, no air date has been announced. To learn more about Lacks’ story, click on this link to watch a TED-Ed video on the famous HeLa cells. (via The Chicago Sun-Times)