Oprah Winfrey is joining HBO’s star-studded lineup in the upcoming special Between the World and Me, according to Deadline.
The adaptation of the critically acclaimed stage show based on Ta-Nehisi Coates’ nonfiction work will also star Angela Bassett, Phylicia Rashad, Susan Kelechi Watson, Joe Morton, Courtney B. Vance and more.
The special will also include archival and documentary footage, and like the Apollo Theater’s 2018 stage performance, Kamilah Forbes will serve as the executive producer of the Apollo.
Oprah Winfrey is joining HBO’s star-studded lineup in the upcoming special Between the World and Me, according to Deadline (seen in February)
‘I’ve been working with Kamilah for almost as long as I’ve been a writer,’ said in a statement about his longtime pal, who also appears in his New York Times bestseller. ‘I can think of no one better to put Between the World and Me on screen.’
Coates’ nonfiction book, which was first published in 2015, is written as a letter to his teenage son and chronicles growing up in Baltimore’s inner city and being Black in the United States.
Last September, the esteemed writer had a brush with the 66-year-old media mogul, who chose his novel, The Water Dancer, for her book club partnership with Apple.
Star-studded cast: The adaptation of the critically acclaimed stage show based on Ta-Nehisi Coates’ nonfiction work, will also star Angela Bassett, Phylicia Rashad, Susan Kelechi Watson, Joe Morton, Courtney B. Vance and more
The book, which was released last year, tells the story of a young boy born into slavery on a plantation only to later discover he has mysterious powers, which he uses in the Underground Railroad.
In writing the book Coates did extensive research, ranging from reading interviews with ex-slaves and consulting a 19th-century Farmer’s Almanac to numerous and revelatory visits to former plantations.
And then came that call from Winfrey.
‘I was just as surprised as anybody. I pretty much write for myself and the only people I think about are my wife and my editor,’ Coates said on learning Winfrey chose his book for her new book club partnership with Apple
‘I was just as surprised as anybody. I pretty much write for myself and the only people I think about are my wife and my editor,’ Coates said on discovering she was choosing his book for her club.
‘I was really happy (about the news from Winfrey). But I think the most encouraging part was that she’s a reader. It was clear from the conversation that she’s a reader. This is not a marketing ploy. There’s nothing to be cynical about,’ he added.
She called it ‘one of the best books I have ever read in my entire life. Right up there in the Top 5’.
Last September, the esteemed writer had a brush with the 66-year-old media mogul, who chose his novel, The Water Dancer, for her book club partnership with Apple, for which she plans a selection every other month
While discussing the impact of The Water Dancer, Winfrey was brought to tears.
‘I have not felt this way about a book since Beloved,’ Winfrey said of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by her friend and literary idol Toni Morrison, who died in August 2019.
‘I knew early on the book was going to cut me up. I ended up with my soul pierced,’ she added.
The Water Dancer tells the story of a young boy born into slavery on a plantation in the U.S. only to later discover he has mysterious powers and joins the Underground Railroad. The book will be released September 24
Winfrey said she was wary at first of The Water Dancer, if only because she found Coates such a ‘beautiful essayist’ and wondered if he could move beyond the factual world.
Speaking on his process of writing The Water Dancer, which follows protagonist Hiram Walker’s journey into the Underground railroad he said: ”I really liked his story, and I said, “This is it.”‘
Coates’ moving autobiography Between the World and Me won the 2015 National Book Award.
Back to the big screen: Most recently she starred in A Wrinkle in Time, and is known for her appearances in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2017), Selma (2014), The Butler (2013), The Princess and the Frog (2009), Charlotte’s Web (2006), and more
The Color Purple marked Winfrey’s acting debut in 1985, and her performance earned an Academy Award nomination.
Most recently she starred in A Wrinkle in Time, and is known for her appearances in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2017), Selma (2014), The Butler (2013), The Princess and the Frog (2009), Charlotte’s Web (2006), and more.
Last April in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, her return to the big screen seemed unlikely, as she said acting doesn’t ‘feed’ her ‘anymore.’