Oprah Takes On The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks for HBO

The Associated Press reports and GalleyCat echoes that talk show host Oprah Winfrey is teaming up with producer Alan Ball to make a movie of the nonfiction book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. We all know who Oprah is, but you may recall Ball's name as the man behind HBO's True Blood vampire series. He is also a co-producer of the movie American Beauty.

From Skloot's website:

About The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells—taken without her knowledge—became one of the most important tools in medicine. The first “immortal” human cells grown in culture, they are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. If you could pile all HeLa cells ever grown onto a scale, they’d weigh more than 50 million metric tons—as much as a hundred Empire State Buildings. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the effects of the atom bomb; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions.

Yet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave.

Henrietta Lacks had cervical cancer. The release of the book caused Johns Hopkins to issue a statement about the history of medical research and informed consent. While Lacks's story has become a case study in questionable medical ethics, her life and how her body was used to benefit medical research and save lives has touched and intrigued journalists and bloggers around the Net.

• An article at Smithsonian.com looks at the book and the case.
• Marly sees the story as Hopes of Immortality at Blogher.com
• Another blogger included Lacks's story as part need to know information for Black History Month.
• City Paper calls Lacks "Wonder Woman"
• An article at The Root considers the great injustice done to Lacks' family while others made millions off her cells.
• NPR considers "A Donor's Immortal Legacy"
• At Women with Cancer, the blogger asks, "Did her cancer help cure mine?"

The AP story says, "No production schedule or air date for the film was announced." The New York Times reports HBO has yet to announce casting.

As you may gather by visiting the links listed in this post, the Net buzzed about this book often in February. Here is a review from GalleyCat that calls Skloot's book "genre-bending." Oprah Magazine discussed the book in January, and the author offers an excerpt at her website.

Extra:

If you are concerned about finding a cure for cancer, please visit the American Cancer Society's More Birthdays site. "Join people around the globe who are passionately committed to making a world with less cancer and more birthdays a reality!"

In addition, the ACS has launched a Choose You campaign, encouraging women to take charge of their own health in the fight against cancer.