What Rebecca's Reading
- 'Serpent-Handling' West Virginia Pastor Dies From Snake Bite A “serpent-handling” West Virginia pastor died after his rattlesnake bit him during a church ritual, just as the man had apparently watched a snake kill his father years before.
- A Dispute Over Who Owns a Twitter Account Goes to Court How much is a tweet worth? And how much does a Twitter follower cost?
- A dollar badly spent: New facts on processed food in school lunches In a collaboration between The New York Times and the Investigative Fund, reporter Lucy Komisar delved into the billion-dollar business of the national school lunch program and found some unsettling news.
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May 12, 2010
Oprah and Alan Ball to Make Film of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks for HBO
Very exciting news: Oprah and Alan Ball have teamed up with HBO to create the film version of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Can you say, Dream Team??
… Ball, creator and exec producer of HBO’s “True Blood,” began pursuing the rights after he received a pre-publication copy last November while on a material-scouting mission in Gotham with his producing partner, Peter Macdissi.
“I fell in love with it,” Ball said. “I thought it would be a perfect movie for HBO.”
Harpo Films topper Kate Forte also began chasing the rights in January after reading the book. Once Ball and Forte realized they were going after the same property and had a similar vision for turning it into an HBO movie, it was a no-brainer to join forces …
Ball and Forte were effusive about how Skloot’s book easily lends itself to a screen adaptation. “It’s an incredibly visually exciting story,” Forte said. “The science of it all is told in an amazing way.”
Forte noted that Winfrey read the book in one sitting. “She couldn’t put it down,” she said.
Ball couldn’t say enough about how excited he is to work with Winfrey and Forte on such a significant project. “Immortal Life” is high on HBO Films’ priority list, given the auspices.
“This is going to be a journey that we’ll all remember for the rest of our lives,” Ball predicted.
Full story online here.

The Henrietta Lacks Foundation
The Henrietta Lacks Foundation strives to provide financial assistance to needy individuals who have made important contributions to scientific research without their knowledge or consent.