I was so excited to hear that this project is finally coming to fruition – thanks to executive producer and star, Oprah Winfrey. A passion project for Winfrey, on which she has worked for the past six years, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks will also be produced by Alan Ball (Six Feet Under, True Blood) and written/directed by George C. Wolfe (Lackawanna Blues, Angels in America), according to Deadline.
Based on the bestselling book with the same title, the movie will highlight the story of Henrietta Lacks, a black woman whose cancer cells were harvested after her death in the 1950’s – without her family’s knowledge or permission. Winfrey will portray Lacks’s daughter as she discovers how her mother contributed to medical breakthroughs and the first human cells grown in a lab that were “immortal,” meaning they do not die after multiple cell divisions – known as HeLa cells.
The medical science, to which Lacks contributed, is the focus of a previous documentary – The Way of All Flesh by Adam Curtis – which can be viewed by clicking here.
Oprah Winfrey can next be seen in the upcoming series Greenleaf premiering on her OWN channel this June. It is Winfrey’s first recurring scripted role in two decades.
Until next thought family, Thomasena
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