News > Latifah, Hudson, and Okonedo Discover The Secret Life of Bees

Written by David Morgan

Queen Latifah, Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda), and Jennifer Hudson ("Hey, remember me?") have joined the cast of The Secret Life of Bees, a drama for Fox Searchlight. Dakota Fanning had already been attached to play Lily Owens, a fourteen year-old girl, living in 1964, who runs away from her abusive father and is taken in by three beekeeping sisters (Latifah, Okonedo, and potentially Alicia Keys). Hudson will play the girl's "caregiver and only friend" who runs away with her to South Carolina.

Variety reports that the film is based on a 2002 bestseller by Sue Monk Kidd. Gina Prince-Blythewood (Love & Basketball) is directing. Lauren Shuler Donner and Jack Leslie are producing alongside James Lassiter, Will Smith and Joe Pichirallo.

Just to be clear, this isn't the movie that started a public outcry about Dakota Fanning being raped, this is another movie that contains child abuse directed at Miss Fanning. She seems to be moving into a morbid phase of her career.