News broke that actress Danai Gurira will play Shirley Chisholm in the feature film “The Fighting Shirley Chisholm.” The film is based around Chisholm’s 1972 election run for president.
Veteran film and television director Cherien Dabis, known for Ramy and Ozark, will direct the film scripted by Adam Countee. The project will be retooled from Viola Davis’ past 2018 work, produced by Amazon and directed by Maggie Betts, Deadline reports.
Scriptwriter Countee is an Emmy-nominated writer for past projects that include Silicon Valley, Community, and The Mindy Project. The film is said to be less a biopic than a snapshot of Chisholm’s 1972 campaign. It will detail her boundary-breaking career as the first Black woman to be a member of Congress in 1968 and the first person of color to seek a major political party’s nomination for the presidency.
Chisholm’s groundbreaking campaign featured youth engagement and her efforts to get the needed number of delegates to support her at the Democratic Convention.
Stephanie Allain will produce the picture through her own Homegrown Pictures banner, along with Gabrielle Ebron, who will executively produce it. The Independent Film Group UTA also are involved in the project.
Gurira has played Okoye in the Avengers, which reprised her Black Panther Role, the Hollywood Reporter reported.
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