the immortal life of henrietta lacks quizlet

#The immortal life of henrietta lacks quizlet movie#

There's a lot in the book that couldn't be in the film - I had 400 pages to flesh out the whole story - but the things you can show on a page are definitely different than what you can show on the screen.

Skloot: There are things movies can do that books can't do, and vice versa.

Live Science: Are there parts of Henrietta's story that emerge more clearly in the film, because it's a more visual medium? This is one of the only known photos of Henrietta Lacks, who died of cervical cancer in Baltimore, Maryland in 1951, when she was 31 years old. And during filming, me and over one dozen Lacks' family members visited various locations on set, and they would let us watch. I provided audio tapes from my research process so the actors could listen to characters for their scenes. We talked with actors - several members of the family and I spent time with Oprah.

#The immortal life of henrietta lacks quizlet movie#

I didn't want the movie to add to that, to fictionalize in a way that would add to lack of clarity about who she was and what her legacy was. Part of the story of Henrietta and her family is the misinformation that was put into world - with the family not involved, her name incorrect, various stories that weren't true. I thought it was really important that the story stick as close to the facts as possible without being overly fictionalized. One of the reasons I was comfortable doing the movie with HBO in the first place was they were open to having me and the family involved. I've read drafts of the script, offered feedback on it as it evolved, helped with research and developing characters along the way. Rebecca Skloot: I'm a consultant on the film - so are some of the members of the Lacks family - and I've been involved from the beginning.

Live Science: What was your role in the process of adapting your book to the HBO movie? This Q&A has been lightly edited for length and clarity.