While they don’t seem to have much that links them, Brad Pitt and Oprah Winfrey have one thing in common. They have become two of the most powerful producers in Hollywood, rather quietly, and previously worked together on Ava DuVernay’s Selma. Now they’re teaming up once again for another prestige drama, an adaptation of Ta-Nehisi Coates novel The Water Dancer.
THR reports Pitt and Winfrey will join with MGM to produce The Water Dancer, a historical fantasy about Hiram Walker, a man born into slavery in the pre-Civil War south. He possesses photographic memory but has no recollection of his mother. After an accident, he develops the ability to teleport long distances via waterways, a power he uses as part of the Underground Railroad.
“I’m honored to be working with Harpo, Plan B and my old friend Kamilah Forbes,” stated Coates. “We all believe that MGM is the best home for this adaptation and look forward to bringing it to life.”
Through his Plan B production banner Pitt has produced acclaimed films such as Vice, 12 Years a Slave, and Moonlight. Through Harpo Films, Oprah has produced The Great Debaters, Precious, and the upcoming film The Water Man. Together, along with Coates’ writing, there’s every chance The Water Dancer enters the awards race whenever it opens.
