A Hattie McDaniel Biopic is on the Horizon

I was poking around on the Interwebs yesterday and discovered, quite by accident, that there are plans in the works here in the greatest of all places...Hollywood...to make a biopic about the life of Hattie McDaniel. Yes indeed - I saw it in Variety. Of course you all know that Ms. McDaniel is the first black person to win an Academy Award - for her portrayal of Mammy in Gone with the Wind. But her story beyond the film industry is also quite interesting. She was instrumental in breaking the color barrier in an exclusive white only Los Angeles neighborhood. But on the other hand...she is often criticized for accepting degrading roles and not taking a more active part in the NAACP and the broader Civil Rights Movement. Throughout her career, she was quite insistent on staying out of politics. 

As far as I can tell, the biopic is only in the preliminary stages, so it could be a while before this gets to the screen. But producers have obtained the film rights to author Jill Watts’ biography, Hattie McDaniel: Black Ambition, White Hollywood, so it looks like things are go. I am really looking forward to checking this one out - eventually, that is. 

With compliments, 

Keith