Kathy Bates is set to work with Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side, a sports dramedy that John Lee Hancock is directing.

The movie is based on “The Blind Side: Evolution of the Game,” a best-selling novel by Michael Lewis.  Blindside follows the true story of football player Michael Oher, who is projected to be one of the first players selected in this year’s NFL draft.

Bates will play a straightforward, practical tutor Bullock hires to help raise Oher, a homeless black teen taken in by Bullock’s affluent white family.