Six years ago, Oprah Winfrey partnered with the creator of True Blood, Alan Ball, to develop a feature length adaptation of Rebecca Skloot‘s book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, for HBO. Now, Oprah is set to star in the film.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is based on a true story about Henrietta Lacks, an African American woman whose cells were used to create the first immortal human cell line. The movie is told from the viewpoint of Henrietta’s daughter, Deborah Lacks (Oprah). Deborah spent her life trying to learn about her mother who she never knew, and the unauthorized harvesting of her cancerous cells in 1951 that led to many medical breakthroughs. This is a story that everyone should know.
Shooting is expected to begin this summer by veteran Broadway director-producer, George C. Wolfe, who also wrote the adaptation for the film. Skloot serves as co-executive producer, while Henrietta Lacks’ sons David Lacks Jr. and Zakariyya Rahman and granddaughter Jeri Lacks are consultants.
