Today, many people have no idea who Anita Bryant is. The Miss America contestant turned professional singer and commercial spokesperson turned anti-gay celebrity activist was a firebrand to a controversy that raged in the 1980s, but for entire generation -- maybe more -- she's unknown. Darren Star, creator of 'Sex and the City' will change that.

The upcoming HBO movie planned to tell the Anita Bryant story should be fascinating. 'Sex and the City's' Darren Star will direct the Bryant biopic and Chad Hodge is writing the script.

HBO has a track record for doing this type of real life docudrama very well, including the classic 'The Late Shift' which depicted David Letterman's exit from NBC and Jay Leno's seizing 'The Tonight Show.' More recently, 'Recount' told the story of the 2000 presidential election when Florida was thrust into the limelight because of voting irregularities.

The Anita Bryant story provides great fodder for an HBO movie because while so many elements are pure Americana, there's many outre points. The question will be how even handed Bryant is treated. How will her campaign against homosexuality be dramatized?

There's no doubt she has had an interesting life, even if she's been out of the public eye for many years. She was a popular singer and television presence, well known for her commercials endorsing Florida orange juice. She made famous the line, "A day without orange juice is like a day without sunshine."

But all that changed when she left the mainstream to become a strictly Christian singer and celebrity. In 1977, she led a crusade to repeal a Miami-Dade County ordinance prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. She became a vocal spokesperson against homosexuality.

"As a mother, I know that homosexuals cannot biologically reproduce children; therefore, they must recruit our children," she said. Her efforts successively struck down the ordinance and it took 20 years for it to be reinstated.

According to Hodge, "She is a fascinating person on every single level. The twists and turns of her life are incredible." The writer has yet to consult with Anita about the movie, but he would like her input. That suggests he'd like to offer some perspective and, as he said, enact... "what drove her to do the things that she did."

It's still early in the project, but it would be interesting to speculate on who could play Anita Bryant. Here's a few thoughts: Kyra Sedgwick, Julianna Margulies...and if they want a movie star, Sandra Bullock, Kate Beckinsale, Reese Witherspoon... Who do you think could play the former beauty queen?