TARAJI P. HENSON TO PLAY MATH GENIUS IN NEW FILM "HIDDEN FIGURES" (3541 hits)
“Empire” star Taraji P. Henson will play mathematics genius Katherine Johnson in “Hidden Figures” for Fox 2000.
The studio has been developing the adaptation of the Margot Lee Shetterly book “Hidden Figures: The Story of the African-American Women Who Helped Win the Space Race,” published by HarperCollins.
“St. Vincent” director Ted Melfi is attached to direct. Producers are Peter Chernin and Jenno Topping through Chernin Entertainment; Donna Gigliotti of Levantine Films; and Melfi.
The story centers on Johnson, a brilliant African-American mathematician who, along with her colleagues Dorothy Vaughn and Mary Jackson, served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in U.S. history — the momentous launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, and his safe return. The three women crossed all gender, race and professional lines while embarking on the mission.
Glenn flew the Friendship 7 mission in 1962 and became the first American to orbit the Earth.
Henson recently picked up a Golden Globe Award for best actress in a TV drama series for her work in Fox’s “Empire.”
Elizabeth Gabler and Marisa Paiva are overseeing the project for Fox 2000. Fox has already set a Jan. 13 release date for “Hidden Figures.”
Henson is repped by Vincent Cirrincione Associates Management and UTA.
I found some more info on Hidden Figures. Hidden Figures: The Black American Women Mathematicians Who Helped NASA and the United States Win the Space Race: An Untold Story by Margot Shetterly will be released in 2016. Most Americans have no idea that from the 1940s through the 1960s, a cadre of Black-American women formed part of the country’s space work force, or that this group—mathematical ground troops in the Cold War—helped provide NASA with the raw computing power it needed to dominate the heavens. Ms. Shetterly has been researching the role of the women for several years, primarily at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA. This presentation on her research was given at Langley in March 2014. The Female Mathematicians of NACA and NASA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkd9sNZG6S...
I know I had NO Idea of this information existed. WOW!