Oscar-winning actress and producer Octavia Spencer has signed a development and production deal with ID, discovery+ and October Films to create premium unscripted true crime TV content.Spencer and her production company, Orit Entertainment, will work with October Films to produce a slate of series and specials that Spencer, discovery+ and true crime and justice network ID will executive produce.The pact will kick of with two projects now in production. The first has the working title Highway 20, and is an event series that begins with the case of a missing 13-year-old girl. The series will detail a decades long true crime odyssey along an Oregon highway. Other projects are in development as part of the agreement.“Everyone at Orit Entertainment is committed to shedding light on the most fascinating cases and crime stories with a unique perspective. We are thrilled to launch our collaboration with Highway 20, an incredible series of cases that took place over decades, only recently connected into a larger story – and this is just the beginning,” Spencer said in a statement.Highway 20, directed by Arianna Lapenne, is inspired by the work of journalist Noelle Crombie, videographer Dave Killen and photojournalist Beth Nakamura of The Oregonian.“Octavia and Orit’s passion for telling true crime stories in a fresh and illuminating way was abundantly clear from our very first conversation. The Warner Bros. Discovery group has encouraged and enabled us to think big as we build a blockbuster slate of premium documentary series,” Matt Robins, creative director of October Films, added in his own statement.Other projects at Orit Entertainment, which Spencer launched in 2019 and runs with partner and producer Brian Clisham and head of production and development Stephanie Kluft, include Truth Be Told for Apple, Self-Made: Inspired By The Life Of Madam C.J. Walker for Netflix and produced with LeBron James and SpringHill Entertainment, and the documentary short Right to Try.Orit also has a three-year overall deal with ABC Signature.Spencer won an Oscar for supporting actress for her performance in 2011’s The Help and earned nominations for work in Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water and Theodore Melfi’s Hidden Figures.
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