Regina King is bringing another story of Black excellence to the silver screen. According to Variety, King is working on Shirley, film about trailblazing politician, Shirley Chisholm.
The Oscar-, Golden Globe- and four-time Emmy-winner will produce and star in the film about the first Black Congresswoman. The film follows Chisolm’s groundbreaking 1972 presidential campaign, giving “an intimate, behind-the-scenes portrait of one of the most ground-breaking political leaders of our time.”
“Shirley Chisholm’s fearless determination has been an inspiration to so many of us, and with this film we hope to inspire many generations to come,” King said in a statement.
The film will be written by John Ridley, a writer with whom King has worked with before on American Crime. King will produce the project under her Royal Ties Productions with partner Reina King. It will be executive produced by Participant.
On this collaboration King says, “To collaborate once again with my friend and mentor, John Ridley, and the team at Participant, makes this decade-long journey even sweeter.”
Ridley, too, is excited about working with King and bringing Chisolm’s story to life.
“Regina’s passion for bringing a complete and very human portrait of Shirley to life has been evident since literally the day we first met. I’m very thankful to both Regina and Reina trusting me to partner in telling the story of this truly remarkable individual.”
The Chisolm film marks a milestone in a year of success for King who picked up her fourth Emmy for Watchmen and made her feature film directorial debut with One Night in Miami. For the latter, she’s the first Black woman nominated for best director at the Oscars.
