Ta-Nehisi Coates is Hollywood swinging.
MGM will partner with Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment, Oprah Winfrey‘s Harpo Films and producer Kamilah Forbes to adapt the acclaimed author’s latest best-selling novel “The Water Dancer” into a film.
The Baltimore-born MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship recipient will write the screenplay for the film, produced by his close friend Forbes, who helmed staged productions of Coates’ 2015 best-seller “Between the World and Me” at the Apollo Theater, the Kennedy Center and as a star-studded HBO special scheduled to air Nov. 21.
In “The Water Dancer,” Hiram Walker, a man born into bondage, harnesses a mysterious power as he recovers from a near-drowning incident.
Upon its initial release last year, Winfrey championed the book and chose it as an official Oprah’s Book Club selection.
Published by One World, “The Water Dancer” arrives in paperback format Nov. 17.
“Hiram’s story is one of devotion to those he loves, and the journey he takes to bring them together,” MGM’s film chair Michael De Luca and group president Pamela Abdy said in a joint statement. “All of us at MGM are incredibly honored to join Ta-Nehisi, Kamilah, Plan B and Harpo Films in bringing this film to the screen.”
Added Coates: “I’m honored to be working with Harpo, Plan B and my old friend Kamilah Forbes. We all believe that MGM is the best home for this adaptation and look forward to bringing it to life.”
Plan B produced on several major Academy Award contenders in recent years, including “Moonlight,” “12 Years a Slave,” and 2018’s “If Beale Street Could Talk.”
