With the critical and box office of success of “Django Unchained” and “12 Years A Slave,” cable television has officially jumped on the slave movie train. According to Deadline, The History Channelplans to produce a remake of the 1977 TV miniseries “Roots.” The cable network recently acquired the rights from Mark Wolper, whose father David L. Wolper was the executive producer of the original.
The idea for a remake came from Michael Stiller, the VP of Program Development and meetings were set up with Wolper and the estate of the late Alex Haley, author of “Roots: The Saga of an American Family” on which the miniseries was based.
When “Roots” aired on ABC 36 years ago, 100 million viewers tuned in for the eight part drama. It earned over 36 Emmy nominations and won nine, including Best Limited Series, Best Supporting Actor (Ed Asner), and music for Quincy Jones. Oprah Winfrey celebrated “Roots” 35th anniversary last year on her OWN network, reuniting cast members LeVar Burton, Sandy Duncan, Leslie Uggams, and Lou Gossett Jr.
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article courtesy of BlackAmericaWeb.com
