Ruth Wilson is bringing Ruth Coker Burks’ story to the big screen. The “His Dark Materials” actress will topline “The Book of Ruth,” a drama inspired by the life of the unlikely AIDS activist. Deadline broke the news.
Written by Rebecca Pollock and Kas Graham, “The Book of Ruth” depicts how Burks, “a devout Christian divorcée and single mother from Arkansas … became a champion and caregiver for AIDS sufferers in 1980s America.” Ruth’s life changes when she meets her new neighbor (Matt Bomer), a gay man who returns home after his partner dies of AIDS in New York. Ruth “decides to educate herself on the epidemic sweeping the country” — and to do something about it.
Known as “The Cemetery Angel,” Ruth helped care for AIDS patients, and buried many in her family’s cemetery, at times even digging the graves herself.
When asked about how her community reacted to her activism, Burks revealed, “I was completely shunned. I was shunned by my church, by the congregation, by the town, and I was the only one who was ringing this bell, saying people are dying. It was like in ‘Dances with Wolves,’ when Kevin Costner gets the fort all set up for the rest of the cavalry to come, and he’s waiting and waiting and they never come. That’s how I was,” she explained. “I thought if I just told people what I was seeing that they would help. But nobody wanted any part of it. I had one very prominent doctor say to me, ‘I will tell you here and now, I will never have an AIDS patient in my office.'”
Burks recalled, “We had a minister at my church, and I was on the finance committee — I was the first woman on the finance committee and I was so proud of having that position in the church. And I asked if I could have one of the Sunday school classrooms to use it for support meetings once a month. And he said, in front of everyone, ‘surely you aren’t talking about bringing those people into this church are you?’ And I said, ‘Oh no, I’m not talking about bringing those people into this church. Instead I’d like to walk those people across your new thirty thousand dollar lawn, and into your new three hundred thousand dollar home, and sit their asses on the forty thousand dollars worth of new furniture this church just bought you! That’s what I’d like to do with those people!’ It was just unfathomable to me,” she emphasized.
Two-time Tony nominee Michael Arden is making his feature directorial debut with “The Book of Ruth,” which will be introduced to buyers at this week’s European Film Market in Berlin.
“It’s a great honor and privilege to tell this important story about the responsibility one human has to another, especially in a time of crisis,” Arden said of the project. “As a gay man, I feel that Ruth’s story of empathy in the face of great prejudice and [adversity] is one so needed in our modern time.” He added, “It is vital for us to remember that we lost an entire generation to the AIDS epidemic and that so many people, including Ruth, sacrificed their own comfort, station, and livelihood to help those in need during this plague.”
Wilson won a Golden Globe for “The Affair.” “Luther,” “Mrs. Wilson,” and “Saving Mr. Banks” are among her other credits.
