Filed under: News
Media mogul Oprah Winfrey will get back in front of the camera to star in an ensemble comedy being written and directed by 'Sex and the City's producer Michael Patrick King and co-starring Meryl Streep and Sandra Bullock, reports Deadline.com .
Although she's voiced a few animated characters recently, including 2009's 'The Princess and the Frog,' it's been twelve years since Oprah Winfrey acted on on-screen. The Chicago, Illinois native was last seen acted in Jonathan Demme's 1998 film 'Beloved,' based on Toni Morrison's book and co-starring Kimberly Elise and Thandie Newton.
King's film set in the world of a Home Shopping-type network, where characters make their way through the maze of mania that surrounds marketing, marriages and the media.
When asked about putting together the film, King stated he was looking to aim high, "I came up with the idea of writing for Meryl, Sandy and Oprah, and it became so specific to them that I wanted to be sure I had interest from these ladies. I put it in front of each of them and they all said yes. To have access to these women, tell them this story and hear yes was almost like a Greek mythological journey, with me going from one goddess to the next. It was humbling. They're all unique, and the idea of writing parts that three strong women will play is such a challenge. Their body of work is beyond reproach. It's also appealing to craft a character for Oprah to come back and play that's not Oprah."
Universal Pictures will be the distributor and King hopes to have the script done in January.
Recently named the richest self-made woman in America by Forbes magazine, Oprah Winfrey's upstart cable network OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network is slated to premiere January 1, 2001.