Academy Award-nominated actress Viola Davis (pictured, via) has signed on to play abolitionist Harriet Tubman in a biopic. Tubman, who was born into slavery, became well-known for escaping and leading 300 others to freedom through an Underground Railroad.
The story will be based on Kate Clifford Larson’s biography, Bound For The Promised Land. Deadline.com reports that “HBO Films has teamed with writer Kirk Ellis, producer Doug Ellin and Steven Spielberg’s Amblin TV” for this project.
Here’s more from the article: “Cliff Dorfman, who had optioned the book, was a writer on the HBO comedy Entourage, created and executive produced by Ellin, who has a deal with the pay cable network. All key auspices have strong ties to HBO.”