In 1985, Steven Spielberg brought Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Color Purple, to the big screen and racked up Academy Award nominations for himself, for the film’s stars, Oprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg and Margaret Avery, and the film’s composer, Quincy Jones. Warner Bros. now re-adapts the story based on the musical version from director Blitz Bazawule, a multi-medium artist whose breakout first feature is the highly acclaimed The Burial of Kojo. Check out the trailer above!
The official synopsis from Warner Bros. reads,
“A story of love and resilience, THE COLOR PURPLE is a decades-spanning tale of one woman’s journey to independence. Celie faces many hardships in her life, but ultimately finds extraordinary strength and hope in the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood.”
This new incarnation of the classic story features an ensemble cast that includes Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), SAG Award winner and Tony Award nominee Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple, Orange Is the New Black), Tony nominee and Emmy Award winner Colman Domingo (Euphoria, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), Tony Award nominee Corey Hawkins (Six Degrees of Separation, In the Heights), Oscar- and Grammy-winning artist H.E.R. (Judas and the Black Messiah), Grammy nominee Halle Bailey (The Little Mermaid), Oscar nominee Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor (King Richard, Ray), and Grammy-winning artist Fantasia Barrino in her major motion picture debut.
The screenplay is by acclaimed playwright Marcus Gardley, who won a WGA Award for Maid. His script is based on the novel by Alice Walker and based on the musical stage play, book (of the musical stage play) by Marsha Norman, music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray.
The original’s star and director, Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg, produced the musical along with Scott Sanders and music icon Quincy Jones. Executive producers on the movie include Alice Walker, Rebecca Walker, Kristie Macosko Krieger, Carla Gardini, Mara Jacobs, Adam Fell, Courtenay Valenti, Sheila Walcott and Michael Beugg.
The Color Purple is set to premiere later this year on December 25.