Things have a way of going right whenever David Oyelowo and Oprah Winfrey are involved in the same projects. The two worked together on Lee Daniels' The Butler and Ava Duvernay's Selma, both films which more than outgrossed their modest budgets and made marks as prominent works on civil rights. Now the duo are set to work together again on a totally original project, and Disney is showing interest in joining them.
Winfrey and Oyelowo are negotiating with Disney to join them as producers on The Water Man, a film penned by newcomer Emma Needell that is being described as a cross between Stand By Me, E.T., and Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. The magical story centers on Gunner, a precocious kid who goes off in search of the mythical Water Man in hopes his ability to cheat death can save his dying mother. Oyelowo would play Amos, Gunner's father who goes in search of his son and learns more about him in the process.
Perhaps the best part of all this is that Disney is still willing to take chances on new talents and create original content, because that gamble hasn't always paid off. [Deadline]
