The star of "Unplanned" is attached as an actress and producer of this movie that is still in development.
With a strong performance under her belt in the lead role of 2019 biopic Unplanned, Ashley Bratcher hopes to take another crack at a true story. The committed Christian and her partners at Simple Jane Films are teaming up with Angel Studios for Pharma, a real-life tale about a female doctor who fought "to keep a dangerous drug from being approved for the U.S. market," as a synopsis for the movie puts it.
They plan to go the crowdfunding route to raise the estimated $12 million production budget for this period piece, which is set in 1960 and focused on Dr. Frances "Frankie" Kelsey, who from her post inside the U.S. Food and Drug Administration led an effort against Thalidomide, a drug that caused birth defects in babies. Bratcher, who starred as abortion-clinic-director-turned-pro-life-advocate Abby Johnson in the aforementioned Unplanned, is not in line for the lead role in this one; she will instead play the part of a fellow FDA doctor and whistleblower, Barbara Moulton.
That is provided the funding comes together and odds are good it will: Utah-based Angel Studios is unrivaled in crowdfunding media projects, having raised tens of millions for The Chosen, the hit streaming series about the life of Christ. They already have more than $600,000 pledged for this project, and tonight Bratcher will join the studio's president, Jordan Harmon, for a livestream event to pitch it to possible contributors.
You can watch that at 7:00 PM EDT/6:00 PM CDT on the movie's Facebook page. If you'd like more information about the project or how to contribute, you can find that via this link to Angel Studios' website, and the trailer below will give you a better feel for the film.