Ava DuVernay’s upcoming “Selma” just got some major star wattage. Oprah Winfrey has signed on as a producer alongside Brad Pitt and Christian Colson.
“Selma” originally had Lee Daniels (“The Butler”) aboard to direct, but Daniels stepped away from the project and DuVernay was brought in. “Selma” will focus on the landmark 1965 march led by Martin Luther King Jr. to protest unjust voting registration regulations against black voters.
On Oprah’s new producing dutes, DuVernay told The Hollywood Reporter, “It’s a subject matter close to her heart. “The producers are behind some of the most forward-thinking movies of last year, and they are all coming together.”
Indeed, “Selma” is shaping up to be potential awards contender as Brad Pitt’s other production “12 Years A Slave” is sweeping through the current awards season, recently winning Best Picture at The Golden Globes and the Critics Choice Movie Awards. Christian Colson was behind the Oscar winning “Slumdog Millionaire.”
David Oyelowo, who co-starred with Oprah in “The Butler”, will play the legendary civil rights leader.
Watch Oprah announce her new producing project at the SAG Awards :
Oprah To Produce MLK Movie “Selma” [VIDEO] was originally published on theurbandaily.com
