HBO is still at work on a fictional adaption of Cocaine Cowboys, but the cable giant's latest project takes on the life of another infamous villain from Miami-Dade's past: Anita Bryant.
The beauty queen turned popular singer turned Florida OJ pitchwoman turned raving anti-gay activist will get the biopic treatment in an upcoming movie, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Bryant became the face of gay discrimination in 1977 when she publicly led the opposition to a Dade County ordinance that merely prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation. She organized a group, Save Our Children, against the ordinance and promised "a crusade to stop it as this country has not seen before."
Taking no shame in stirring ugly emotions and spreading misinformation, Bryant was successful in overturning the ordinance by popular vote. But her efforts were overturned in 1998, and in 2002, 56 percent of Miami-Dade voted against overturning the ordinance once again.
Her efforts also led to Florida's gay adoption ban, which has been in legal limbo after a Miami judge overturned it last year.
The biopic, however, won't likely sympathize with Bryant's views: It's being directed by openly gay Sex and the City creator Darren Star.
Don't expect it to be a total character assassination of Bryant either. The screenwriter promises it will be a "nuanced portrayal of her" that will show "what drove her to do the things that she did."
The movie is in development and the script remains unfinished, so there's no word on casting, shooting locations, or a premiere date.
