Viola Davis has lined up her first project under her recent Amazon deal. The Oscar winner will portray the titular pioneering politician in “The Fighting Shirley Chisholm,” Deadline reports. Chisholm was the first black woman elected to Congress, the first person of color to pursue a major political party’s presidential nomination, and the first woman to seek the Democratic Party’s presidential nom.
Davis will also produce the film, which Amazon Studios acquired in “a fierce bidding war.” “The Fighting Shirley Chisholm” seems to be a passion project for the “Widows” actress. She signed on to play Chisholm in 2010, but that biopic never moved forward.
“Novitiate” helmer Maggie Betts is directing “The Fighting Shirley Chisholm” from a screenplay by Adam Countee (“Silicon Valley”). Stephanie Allain (“Dear White People”) and Mel Jones will produce alongside Davis’ JuVee Productions.
Countee had long wanted to tell the story of a “trailblazing congresswoman who never backed down [even when her actions] drew ridicule and bigoted backlash,” the source reveals.
Chisholm represented New York’s 12th Congressional District for seven terms, from 1969 to 1983. She kicked off her presidential campaign in January 1972. George McGovern eventually received the Democratic nomination and lost the general election to the incumbent, Richard Nixon. After leaving office, Chisholm taught, continued to work in politics behind the scenes, and launched the African-American Women for Reproductive Freedom organization. She died in 2005, and was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015.
Chisholm is the subject of the documentaries “Shirley Chisholm for President” and “Chisholm ’72: Unbought & Unbossed.” Anika Noni Rose was previously attached to star in and produce a Chisholm biopic.
Currently starring on the big screen in heist thriller “Widows” and on the small screen in legal drama “How to Get Away with Murder,” now in its fifth season on ABC, Davis’ upcoming projects include Bert & Bertie’s upcoming “Troupe Zero,” a comedy about elementary school misfits.
