Filed under: News
With an Oscar nomination ('Doubt'), a second Tony Award ('Fences'), and recent high profiled films, Viola Davis is being courted to star in the biopic of Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman elected to Congress and the first major-party black candidate for President of the United States.
The New York Daily News states that producers Bryan Gambogi and Grant Anderson of Creative-Monster Productions are bringing the life of Brooklyn Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm to the silver screen - and they want Davis to play the lead role.
The yet-to-be-titled feature, which is being written by Camille Thomasson, will tell the story of Chisholm's rise to become the first black woman to serve in Congress, as well as her historic 1972 run for the White House. "Chisholm was a riveting politico," Gambogi says. "I've been watching vintage TV clips and am enthralled by her presence and eloquence."
Davis recently played a supporting role opposite Julia Roberts in 'Eat Pray Love,' and with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz in 'Knight and Day.' The South Carolina native will next star in DreamWorks Studios bigscreen adaptation of Kathryn Stockett's best-selling novel 'The Help.'