Hillary Clinton to bring female voting rights story to television

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hillary Clinton is adding a new skill to her resume: television producer. The losing 2016 US presidential candidate said on Wednesday she was working with director Steven Spielberg to bring a book about women’s fight for voting rights to television. “I’m thrilled to be joining forces with Steven Spielberg to bring @efweiss5’s book ‘The Woman’s Hour’ to TV,” Clinton said on her Twitter account, referring to author Elaine Weiss. “It’s about the women who fought for suffrage nearly 100 years ago. We stand on their shoulders, and I’m delighted to have a hand in helping to tell their stories,” she added. Spielberg’s Amblin Television said in a statement that Clinton would be one of four executive producers on the show, which is being developed for a cable channel or a streaming platform. No writer or network has yet signed on, but The Hollywood Reporter said Clinton is expected to have hands-on involvement in the development of the show, including casting. The project will mark Clinton’s debut as a TV producer and follows a deal in May between Netflix and former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle to produce films, documentaries and other content for the streaming service. “The Woman’s Hour,” set in 1920, tells the story of the long crusade by American women to get the right to vote. It was published in March. Clinton called it “both a page-turning drama and an inspiration for everyone, young and old, male and female, in these perilous times.” Since losing her bid to become the first female US president, Clinton has written a memoir about her campaign, “What Happened,” and launched the political action group Onward Together. She is also due to make a guest appearance as herself in an October episode of television’s “Madam Secretary,” about a fictional female US Secretary of State that is widely thought to be inspired by Clinton’s own time at the US State Department from 2009 to 2013.