Cast will also include Sanaa Lathan, Alfre Woodard, Rockmund Dunbar and Kathy Bates

Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson is in negotiations to lead the cast of "Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys" for Lionsgate.

Guess who's writing, directing, producing and starring in "Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys"? That's right. None other than Tyler Perry.

In addition, though, the cast is already set to include Sanaa Lathan, Alfre Woodard, Rockmund Dunbar and Oscar winner Kathy Bates.

According to Variety, the drama focuses on "two families from different sides of the tracks that become intimately involved in love and business." The trade is quick to point out -- as if Bates' casting weren't notification enough -- that this will be Perry's first film to feature white characters in prominent roles.

"Preys" will be Perry's sixth for Lionsgate, following the fall hit "Why Did I Get Married?" and this March's "Meet the Browns." He's expected to follow "Preys" with "Madea Goes to Jail."

Hudson has been working steadily since her "Dreamgirls" breakthrough. She's finished work on "Winged Creatures" and the "Sex and the City" movie and she was recently cast in a an adaptation of the novel "The Secret Life of Bees."