As reported by Variety, Taraji P. Henson is set to star in The Best Of Enemies, an upcoming civil rights drama co-produced by Empire’s Danny Strong. The film will be based on Osha Gray Davidson’s book The Best Of Enemies: Race And Redemption In The New South, and it will be the directorial debut of Hunger Games executive producer Robin Bissell.
Henson will be playing Ann Atwater, a civil rights activist from North Carolina who took part in several meetings with Ku Klux Klan leader C.P. Ellis in 1971 about how to reduce violence in Durham’s schools and ensure that their desegregation went as smoothly as possible. As Variety says, this “changed both of their lives immeasurably.” Hey, that sounds like a good idea for a movie! No word on who will play Ellis, but we have a feeling that there aren’t a ton of actors jumping at the chance to play a KKK leader these days.