News broke yesterday that Oprah Winfrey and American Beauty co-producer Alan Ball will team up to produce an adaptation of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks for HBO.
On Twitter, author Rebecca Skloot fielded questions about the adaptation.
Skloot revealed that the producers will include both herself and her subject’s family: “I’ll [be] a consultant on film, so will Lacks family. That was important [to] me & HBO. That’s [one] of many reasons HBO was right home [for the book.]” She added: “I’ll be a consultant, and so will Lacks family.”
She also noted: “I’ve known [for] a while, just couldn’t say anything about it until it was public, which happened this AM while I was sleeping.”
The day concluded with casting suggestions from her Twitter followers: “Most popular votes [for] playing me in #HeLa movie: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway & Natalie Portman. For Henrietta: Halle Berry & Viola Davis.”