Actor and director, Tyler Perry is to star in an HBO biopic on pioneering filmmaker Oscar Micheaux, playing Micheaux in the film.
The TV biopic would be produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron. Tyler would also serve as an executive producer.
Speaking to Variety.com Zadan said:
We’re thrilled to be partnering with Tyler Perry to bring Oscar Micheaux’s inspiring and trailblazing life story to HBO
Meron added:
There are so many parallels between the groundbreaking work that Micheaux pioneered and Perry’s achievements as an artist that it feels like a natural fit.
A director is yet to be appointed but the script will be written by CharlesMurray and it would be based on Patrick McGilligan‘s 2007 biography “Oscar Micheaux: The Great and Only: The Life of America’s First Black Filmmaker”.
The late star, Micheaux rose to prominence in the early 20th century after he switched from being an author to a moviemaker. After producing over 40 films telling the story of fellow African-Americans, he passed away in 1951 at the age of 67.
