Oprah Winfrey to join Plan B in producing MLK drama 'Selma'

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- Oprah Winfrey is joining the team making "Selma," a film about U.S. civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., as a producer, director Ava DuVernay said.

Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner are already on board as producers as part of their Plan B production company, which was also behind "12 Years a Slave," the Hollywood Reporter said Sunday.

Christian Coulson, who won an Oscar for "Slumdog Millionaire," and Cameron McKracken are also producing the film.

"Selma" focuses on the attempts of activists to march from Selma to Montgomery in Alabama in 1965 to gain voting rights.

David Oyelowo will play King, Reporter said.

Oprah, who played Oyelowo's mother in "Lee Daniels' The Butler," is becoming involved in the film industry after a long absence.

"It's a subject matter close to her heart," DuVernay said. "The producers are behind some of the most forward-thinking movies of last year and they are all coming together."