Oprah Winfrey to produce Martin Luther King Jr. biopic “Selma”

Oprah Winfrey will produce "Selma," a biopic on the legendary leader Martin Luther King Jr., for Paramount Pictures, Deadline Hollywood reports.

According to site, Paramount is currently in the final stage of negotiations for the domestic rights of the movie.

The long-expected film will be based on the historic civil rights campaign spearheaded by King in 1965 and will be directed by Ava DuVernay - the first black director to win the top honors at the Sundance Film Festival, which she earned in 2012 for her indie drama "Middle of Nowhere."

David Oyelowo, the British actor who appeared in "Middle of Nowhere" and Lee Daniels' "The Butler," is reported to play the lead role.

DuVernay came on board in July, rewriting the entire script before sending it to Winfrey for approval. The original script was done by Paul Webb.

"We've been waiting for a strong cinematic tribute to the iconic civil rights leader, and this remarkably becomes the second MLK project that Winfrey is involved with," she said.

According to the Los Angeles Times, while "Selma" is not the only film project on King, as far as production is concerned, it is ahead of others.

In January, Oliver Stone took to Twitter to announce his decision to abandon his planned movie on King following a dispute over the script. Meanwhile, Paul Greengrass, who directed "Captain Phillips," announced in December that his planned King movie "Memphis" is not ready and won't be his next venture.

While Hollywood films based on race have historically faced funding shortages, producers are hopeful that things are starting to shift following the resounding success of "The Butler" and "12 Years a Slave," Oliver Gettell of the Times notes. The former alone earned $116 million from domestic revenues, while pocketing $51 million abroad. On the other hand, "12 Years a Slave" has earned $128 million worldwide so far and is a strong contender for the top honor at this year's Oscars.