Morgan Freeman is taking on the role of former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell in Powell, a biopic from Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment. Reginald Hudlin, who is coming off the Thurgood Marshall biopic Marshall, will direct the drama, which will be produced by Amritraj and Lori McCreary, Freeman’s partner at Revelations Entertainment.
Ed Whitworth wrote the script that was on the 2011 Black List and is set during Powell’s tenure as Secretary of State in the George W. Bush White House. The script tells of the lead-up to his UN presentation.
Powell, who went from respected Army general to the first African-American Secretary of State, initially opposed the U.S.’ invasion of Iraq, not believing dictator Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. But he capitulated to hawkish voices in the White House and made a now-infamous case for war to the United Nations Security Council. The evidence he presented was later discredited, and Powell has described the event as a low point in his career.
