Uma Thurman is set to star in Anita , a film about notorious anti-gay activist Anita Bryant.
Bryant was a popular singer and spokeswoman for orange juice in the 1970s. Bryant began her campaign against legislation for gay rights in Florida, ultimately alienating members of her audience and ending her career as an entertainer.
Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman will direct the upcoming biopic. The team has worked on award-winning films about LGBT issues in the past, including The Times of Harvey Milk , which earned an Oscar. Chad Hodge provided the screenplay for the film, which includes scenes based on real life conversations Hodge had with Bryant about her present stance on gay rights. The conversations were conducted while Hodge was researching Bryant’s life.
Bryant was best known for signing the praises of orange juice in television commercials during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1977, Bryant’s household name was better associated with her high-profile campaign against legislation in Dade County, Florida, which prohibited discrimination on basis of sexual orientation.
"As a mother, I know that homosexuals cannot biologically reproduce children; therefore, they must recruit our children,” Bryant declared during a rally opposing the legislation, Yahoo! Movies reports. Bryant and her supports succeeded in overturning the legislation in Dade County, and her success inspired her to campaign against gay rights across the country.
Though playing the role presents some challenges, Thurman seems ready to take on whatever a role will throw at her. Thurman spoke of the rewarding nature of her career to Reader’s Digest saying, “The purest relationship I have ever had, aside from with my children, is with my work. Whatever you give it, it gives you back double.”
Image: Tumblr
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