Viola Davis has found her next starring role as an iconic historical figure. Davis will star in and produce “The Fighting Shirley Chisholm” as the first African American woman elected to the U.S. Congress in the House of Representatives.
The project is set up at Amazon Studios, and the news comes one day after Davis and her JuVee Productions along with Julius Tennon announced a first look deal with Amazon to produce film content.
Stephanie Allain and Mel Jones under Homegrown Pictures will produce along with Davis and Tennon under the JuVee Productions banner. Maggie Betts (“Novitiate”) will direct the film from a screenplay written by Adam Countee (“Silicon Valley,” “Community,” “Mindy Project”) about the true story of political figure Shirley Chisholm.