Academy Award-nominated actress Viola Davis has been tapped to star in an upcoming television movie about abolitionist Harriet Tubman.
Davis is also on the creative side of the biopic, and developing the project for HBO.
The as yet unnamed film is also helmed by Amblin TV, seasoned HBO writer Kirk Ellis, and "Entourage" executive producer Doug Ellin. Other executive producers include Davis' husband, Julius Tennon, Amblin TV's Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank, Jim Lefkowitz and Cliff Dorfman.
Variety reports that the movie is based on the book "Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman: Portrait of an American Hero" by Kate Clifford Larson.
Tubman was born a slave in Maryland but escaped when she was around 27 years old. She used the Underground Railroad and the North Star to make her way through Delaware and into Pennsylvania. Soon, she began returning to Maryland to help guide her family members and others to freedom. Tubman also provided instruction that allowed dozens of other slaves to escape to the north and into Canada.
During the Civil War, Tubman assisted the Union and its soldiers by serving as a nurse and a leader of the scouts. Her knowledge of back routes, marshes, and woods helped the men map their courses.
Reportedly, the Harriet Tubman film has not yet received the green light to begin production, and is in the beginning stages of development. Having a bona fide star such as Davis attached to the project may help it receive further backing on an accelerated schedule.
Davis, 49, currently stars in the hit ABC series "How to Get Away With Murder," which premiered to rave reviews in September. The series was created by Shonda Rhimes, and focuses on a college professor (Davis) and her students who become involved in a murder plot.
