- 6 days ago
The Hollywood Reporter's Nekesa Mumbi Moody sat down with Producer Oprah Winfrey and cast Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks and Fantasia Barrino to discuss 'The Color Purple' in a THR Q&A powered by Vision Media.
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00:00I started out doing this movie. I did it for $35,000. My lawyer said I can get you 50. I said
00:05please don't. I'd do it for nothing. $35,000. So happy just to be on set every day. Name wasn't
00:12on the poster and now I'm producing it 40 years later with Steven Spielberg.
00:19We have to say congratulations because we have two Golden Globe nominees in the house.
00:37I want to ask both of you what it meant to hear your names being called this morning.
00:42Oh man, I don't even know where to start. I'll say to hear my name called today
00:49was I just felt like the end of the story we sing amen which means it is well. That is how I felt.
01:01It is well. And so I was very at peace with it because I had worked a long time to validate myself
01:11instead of worry about the validation from other people. And it wasn't until I voice memoed my parents
01:19and I actually said hey y'all I know you might not understand what's going on but I got nominated
01:27for a Golden Globe. That coming out of my mouth
01:31I was a puddle of tears. That's when it hit me. So yeah and then Miss O left me a voice memo and
01:39the flood came in. Everybody leaving voice memos. That's my story this morning. Very
01:44peaceful and then floodgates opened. Oh my lord. So yesterday we sat in the airport for like 13
01:56hours trying to get here. So we finally make it to the room, get some sleep. Seven o'clock this morning
02:02morning. I called my king and he and my mom were screaming. But I was still half asleep.
02:12So I was thinking, Lord, what has happened? He says, babe, congratulations. I'm thinking on what?
02:19I hung up because I had to make sure I wasn't dreaming and get myself together. I called back. I said,
02:28Ken, you have to calm down and tell me what you're talking about. He said, you got nominated for a
02:34Golden Globe. And here was my reaction. My mama said, you got to stop crying. I said, no, I don't.
02:48No, I don't. Because I had asked. I've been crying all day. So my eyes hurt.
02:53No. But I did. I sat there and I said, what if? It's been a long time coming. So it feels good.
03:08You know, there was a premiere the other day. And I think many of us saw this beautiful moment with you
03:15and Paula Abdul embracing on the carpet. And there's a clip. Then people have played the clip of Paula Abdul
03:22saying to you when you were a contestant on American Idol, like, I see great things for you.
03:27I see movies. I see all this. And to see that happen, like, just talk about that full circle.
03:34You know, a lot of times we want God to do it when we want God to do it.
03:39They used to sing this song in church called, he may not come when you want him.
03:42We done right on time. We was like, wait, right on time. I want him to come now.
03:52I'm full today because the book of Job is one of my favorite books. Job lost everything.
04:02He was tried time after time after time. But he never gave up on God. And I didn't either.
04:09I knew God had my back. I didn't know where I was going or how I was going to do it. Matter of fact,
04:15I kind of let all that go and was like, Lord, just use me. Just give me the mic. Let me open my mouth
04:19and sing. Whatever you want me to do, I'm going to do it. So when they came to me about the movie,
04:24I didn't know this was.
04:25I get it. I get it.
04:33You're deserving, sis.
04:34It's beautiful.
04:35So deserving.
04:37It's all we've been doing, y'all.
04:42Everywhere we go.
04:44Every Q&A.
04:46Everywhere.
04:46Every screening.
04:47Every time.
04:49It turns into a church service.
04:50We're not going to do this tomorrow, okay?
04:51Okay.
04:52CBS morning, we're not doing this tomorrow.
04:53CBS morning. We're on the Gayle King morning thing.
04:57We're not going to start crying on the CBS in the morning.
05:01Everywhere.
05:03I think this moment speaks to what I think you told me, Taraji,
05:07and all of you have told me about, you talked about how this project was anointed.
05:11Oprah, you talked about how no one felt like this was,
05:14they were bigger than this project.
05:16Yeah.
05:16Talk about what this project has meant and like the divine inspiration of it all.
05:22It's a divine thing.
05:23Because when Alice Walker sat down to write it and invoked her ancestors in the writing of it,
05:30they were all present.
05:32There's a wonderful line that I love to share that Maya Angelou taught me in her poem to our grandmother.
05:39She says,
05:40I come as one, but I stand as 10,000.
05:43And so this movie and all of the characters, Celie and Suge and Sophia, Mr. representing the ancestry and relatives of Alice Walker,
05:58also represent the 10,000.
06:01And so what you feel when you read the book, when you see the original,
06:06and also what is carried now for 40 years later as an offering to all of you,
06:15that's what you're feeling.
06:16You're feeling the spirit of the 10,000.
06:19And so it is divinely touched.
06:22It is anointed.
06:24I have known it since the very first day I read the book.
06:27And it comes with its own spiritual power.
06:31And those of us who have been a part of it understood that from the beginning of undertaking these roles that they now do 40 years after I did in 1985.
06:42Everybody who comes to it knows that the thing is bigger than you, and you are carrying that thing forward.
06:48And so it's, as Fantasia has often said and can speak to better than I, that there's a healing involved in the process.
06:58The same thing that happened with Celie.
07:00That energy is offered to the audience to receive it.
07:05So I feel blessed that I am now about to turn 70 and I was 31 when I did that movie.
07:12It's good, baby.
07:13Yes.
07:13Yes.
07:14And 31, and as I've shared with you, never wanted anything more.
07:21And that it still holds the same power and energy with even a greater velocity to it in 2023 and 2024 than it had in 1985.
07:33Because we had a lot of resistance to it in 1985.
07:37And so I feel blessed to be able to pass the baton, blessed to be able to create the platform, blessed to be able to support these women in all the ways that I can.
07:48It's beautiful.
07:49Yeah.
07:52Taraji, you also, when I spoke to you, you talked about, again, being anointed, but also being inspired to go through the audition.
08:02Do the singing and do all the stuff that you weren't sure you wanted to do.
08:07Can you talk a little bit about that?
08:11When Queen O says this project is anointed, I need you to understand how anointed.
08:18Because I had no idea there was a Color Purple remake or anything.
08:24I just, I'm at home, it's the pandemic, and I get a call from my manager, and he's like, oh, you're being tapped for Suge.
08:31And I'm like, Suge what?
08:33And he's like, Suge Avery.
08:34And he's like, they're doing a remake of Color Purple.
08:37I'm like, why?
08:38We ran out of stories to tell?
08:40Oh, my God.
08:40I was tapped to play her on Broadway, and I turned it down then, because I was like, I can't sing at that capacity.
08:51Eight shows a week, my voice will blow.
08:54And so I turned it down.
08:55I ran from Suge.
08:56But the anointings came in.
08:58Suge came back and got me.
08:59She said, at, at.
09:01Mm-mm.
09:01Not so fast.
09:03Because literally, Blitz handpicked me.
09:06And I was like, me?
09:09Like, huh?
09:11And so when someone pours into you, and they see something in you, you want to make them proud.
09:18And so, sure enough, I was his choice.
09:22But oftentimes in the industry, you are the director's choice, but then you got to prove it to the studio.
09:26And I understand.
09:27There was nothing out there of me singing like this.
09:30Nothing.
09:30You know, hard out here for a pimp.
09:31Anybody can do.
09:33That ain't even hard for a pimp.
09:40So, I trained in musical theater, so it was something that I could do.
09:49But what touches me deep, deep, deep down in my spirit is that I know this is bigger than me.
09:54Because I lost my father three weeks before I sang, it's hard out here for a pimp at the Oscars.
09:59And his dying words was, you're going to be one of the greatest actresses alive, but wait until the world hears you sing.
10:05And I just was like, eh, whatever.
10:07So, I know this is him, because I wasn't looking for this.
10:11I'm going to make y'all laugh now.
10:20So, when they said I had to audition, I had to check my ego.
10:24Because I'm like, I'm an Academy Award nominee.
10:25I don't audition.
10:26But Blitz was like, Taraji, please, just, please, just go with me.
10:33And it was him speaking into me.
10:36And I said, I'm going to go in here and I'm going to make this undeniable.
10:40I found a dress.
10:42I got me some character shoes.
10:43I had a dress.
10:44It was very Suge-like.
10:46I had braids in my hair.
10:48I pinned my hair up.
10:49I put my baby's breath in my hair.
10:51I had a full wrap, full fur on.
10:54I kicked that door in Sophie style.
10:58He was like, you need to rehearse.
10:59I said, no, it's in this key.
11:00Let's go.
11:01And within 20 minutes, it was a wrap.
11:03I was like, they will never second-guess me again.
11:14So, you know, and then after that, I got the role.
11:18And then I'm like, well, who's playing Sealy?
11:20And who's playing?
11:21And the names, he said, I was like, oh, my God, I can't wait to go meet them.
11:27Like, this is going to be so incredible.
11:29And when I get to set, like, I'm unsure of my singing.
11:33And this one's like, girl, you got it.
11:40You good.
11:41You ain't done an impression of me yet.
11:44No, she was on set like, is that her?
11:46That's her really singing.
11:50That's good.
11:53But that sisterhood and that love that you see and feel on that screen,
11:58that's because that's what you get.
12:00It's very real.
12:01And we held each other up.
12:03We inspired each other.
12:05Still doing it.
12:07Like, you know, this is what it's about.
12:10And, like, black women, seriously.
12:14No.
12:15We got to stick together.
12:18That's where the power is.
12:20I'll never tear a sister down on no platform in public.
12:24I'm going to always live.
12:25Since y'all see how I move in this industry.
12:27It's enough room for everybody.
12:29And the beauty of this is that we coming at you in all shapes, sizes, and colors.
12:33With all different stories and backgrounds.
12:36That's how diverse we are.
12:38And that's what makes this feel so good.
12:41Because when I got to Hollywood, it was one at a time.
12:43So I am so grateful to have been fighting so hard and get to sit back and watch you guys for your first film.
12:52And y'all racking up awards like Jesus.
12:56I'm so proud.
12:58I'm so freaking proud.
13:00Can I just ask you, Fantasia and Danielle, what it was like to have this woman be your mentor on set?
13:11Really?
13:14Don't make me cry.
13:15Okay, I'm going to try not to.
13:17Okay.
13:18Just be funny.
13:19Okay.
13:19Okay.
13:23You know, honestly, like, I've always been a fan.
13:26I always tell her she's my real life walking Oscar.
13:29And to the community, we don't really look at what you hold in your hand as, like, papers and metal.
13:37We watch the movies, and we know how it makes us feel when we're done watching.
13:43So I was very inspired by her before I even met her.
13:48So I was very nervous.
13:50I'll never forget.
13:52When you came in the room, I had just came out the bathroom.
13:55Uh-huh.
13:56You and Santa came in.
13:57And you had on a bad pair of frames, your little ones.
14:02And she came in like this.
14:04Please, I don't know.
14:06And I said, oh, God, Taraji's in the building.
14:11But I didn't know.
14:13I also, coming from the industry, have met.
14:16You don't know what you're going to get as soon as I walk in.
14:20We just start talking.
14:21What's your sign?
14:22I said, I'm a counselor.
14:23Oh, I love cancer.
14:24I'm a Virgo.
14:25I got family in there, Canada.
14:29And we, I mean, we just started talking.
14:31And she guided me through.
14:33There were times that some things that she would say, I would be like, okay, I need to buckle
14:37up and hear what she got to say.
14:39Everything is going to come smooth, come nice, come easy.
14:42But that's like a grandmother.
14:43That's like a mother.
14:44That's like an auntie telling you like, no, you don't need to do that.
14:48You need to do this, this, this, that, and a third.
14:50And I just ate from the table.
14:52I just ate from the table.
14:54She kept me up on set.
14:56There was a lot of scenes for me that were hard, heavy, and dark.
15:00But as soon as we were done, she came through doing something funny.
15:05She was the first one to teach me how to leave the character on set.
15:09That's why I didn't enjoy it on Broadway.
15:11I think we used to talk about that.
15:13I used to be like, how do I let Celie go?
15:16She went home with me.
15:18I woke up with her.
15:18I wanted her to go somewhere else.
15:22She taught me, you go in and you come out.
15:27And so I thank you for that.
15:30I thank you.
15:30The text messages that you sent me, the messages that you sent me today.
15:34Very, very uplifting.
15:36Also telling me, enjoy this ride.
15:38I mean, what you see is what you get.
15:42And I love that.
15:44Wow.
15:44We kiss on set, we kiss off set.
15:53Tarangé.
15:55Tarangé, as Blitz, our director, says.
15:58I mean, I have been watching her from the beginning.
16:05And to just have someone just be a guide for us, be our voice box.
16:13I remember when we first came in and we were doing rehearsal and they put us all in the same space.
16:19Like we didn't have our own dressing rooms at the time.
16:22And they did not give us.
16:24Sorry, Miss O, we didn't have no food.
16:26She had no idea.
16:27She didn't know what was going on.
16:29She had no idea.
16:29She was like, I heard about it.
16:31And you corrected it for us.
16:33I called you.
16:34Didn't I call you?
16:35Yes.
16:35And I was like, Miss O, we got to fix this.
16:39And she said, say less.
16:40And was it not fixed?
16:41And that's what I appreciated, though.
16:43You are our voice.
16:44Because a lot of times, yes, I've done a lot of TV.
16:47I've done a lot of films, specifically independent films.
16:51But this is my first studio film.
16:53So sometimes you do come in just saying, OK, well, I'm going to just take whatever they give me.
16:57I'm just happy to be here, you know?
16:59But you spoke up for us.
17:01And you showed me how to do that.
17:03But what I've really enjoyed is your sisterhood is authentic.
17:09And it's real.
17:10It's not this fake ha-ha, hoo-hoo stuff you just say to be PC.
17:16And I appreciate that.
17:18So just for it to happen again in this way, to have bonded with you ladies, y'all are with me.
17:25And I'm with you all forever.
17:26Forever.
17:27Forever, ever.
17:28Forever, ever.
17:29Forever, ever.
17:30Oprah, when you were on set, what was that like being there as a producer some almost 40 years after you made your debut?
17:39It is, you know, in the movie, at the end of the movie, they sing, look what God has done.
17:46Look what God has done.
17:48I tell you, I didn't even dream this dream.
17:51And I often say God can dream a bigger dream than you can dream for yourself.
17:55That's what The Color Purple taught me in 1985.
17:58But the idea of coming, first of all, that Scott Sanders believed that you could turn this into a musical.
18:08When I first heard that he was going to do that, I was like, what's Celia going to be doing?
18:11Singing?
18:14Sweeping the floor?
18:18As it turns out, Scott, she was singing and sweeping the floor.
18:22I didn't see it.
18:24He had the vision to see it twice on Broadway.
18:26Anyway, so to, you know, the word full circle is used a lot.
18:32Y'all, when I was in The Color Purple in 1985, the fight scene, you know this, Danielle,
18:40the fight scene where she hits the mayor in town, I did that fight scene.
18:44I took off the coat and I went to Steven Spielberg and said,
18:49I needed permission to be off for the next two days because I was going to sign the contract
18:54to do the Oprah Winfrey show.
18:59And he said, what is that?
19:01And I said, well, it's a talk show.
19:05And he said, is it radio or what is it?
19:07I said, no, it's going to be TV.
19:09And it's up against Phil Donahue.
19:11And people say I'm going to be famous.
19:14Maybe you want to put my name on the poster because my name wasn't on the poster.
19:19My name wasn't on the poster.
19:21And he said, there's no way your name can go on the poster.
19:24You have a favorite nation's contract and you needed to work that out with your lawyer.
19:27So my name wasn't on the poster.
19:29And that was, I was 31.
19:31And I think for my 42nd birthday, Quincy Jones had a birthday party for me.
19:36And he had a poster made with my name on the poster.
19:39Yes, absolutely.
19:40So my point is, I started out doing this movie.
19:43I did it for $35,000.
19:45My lawyer said, I can get you 50.
19:47I said, please don't.
19:48I'd do it for nothing.
19:50$35,000.
19:51So happy just to be on set every day.
19:53Name wasn't on the poster.
19:55And now I'm producing it 40 years later with Steven Spielberg.
20:01Look what God has done.
20:07It was pretty amazing.
20:09And I wanted to be there to specifically pass the baton on the iconic scene that Sophia does
20:16of you told Harpo to beat me.
20:19And that day, I mean, when I called Danielle, for me, that was the passing of the baton.
20:27But to be there that day for that scene, that was the moment.
20:30It was handed over.
20:32You know, that beautiful passage, those of you who love Toni Morrison, that beautiful
20:35passage in Song of Solomon where she talks about pass it on, pass it on, pass it on.
20:41That's what it felt like to me to be there is the passing on.
20:44And can we say something?
20:45I think all of us will agree.
20:48Queen O was there with us a lot in the trenches where there were snakes.
20:56And mosquitoes.
20:57And mosquitoes.
20:58A lot of mosquitoes.
20:59Hot.
21:00Hot.
21:01We all would gather up and be like, she's here.
21:05That's not like, we didn't think she, we thought, okay, she could just, you know, produce the movie
21:10and go, you know.
21:11She was there with us in the trenches, rooting us on, pulling us to the side.
21:17I got text messages.
21:18I remember when, in the scene when Nettie comes back.
21:21We shot that scene.
21:24That was the first scene we shot.
21:26First day.
21:27Very first day.
21:29And I think we all could feel like, hmm, something is missing.
21:34And as a mother, a black woman who knows if something, someone is taken away from you,
21:40you don't just receive it like, oh, good to meet you.
21:43You got to pick them up off the floor.
21:46So we went back to reshoot that.
21:50And guess who was there?
21:51Queen O.
21:53And that was the moment where they allowed, Blitz said, you know what, Tasia?
21:58Just, I'm going to back off.
22:00Just do what you do.
22:01And Queen texted me and said, in the South, there's a cry we call, like, a wail.
22:09Anybody?
22:09Yeah, wailing.
22:11And she said, job well done.
22:13That, I feel, I feel it, I feel it, I feel it.
22:16Those messages for all of us was very inspiring because we were doing blood work.
22:22We were stepping into our ancestors, and we were on grounds that still had slave houses.
22:27And again, did I mention there were snakes?
22:31So for her to be there with us in the trenches, encouraging us, speaking to us,
22:39doing the electric slide with us, that was everything.
22:44That's how I knew this is more to her than just money, than just,
22:49this is something to her that is special.
22:53And she's with us, so we thank you from the bottom of our eyes.
22:56And it was beyond being there for us, like, acting-wise.
22:59I'm talking about as a producer.
23:01When she said, if there is anything you need, don't hesitate to call.
23:07I was nervous at first.
23:08I was like, should I call?
23:10And my manager was like, she would want to know this.
23:12Her name is on this project.
23:14She would want to know this.
23:15And so when I called, when she says, say less, this woman moved mountains.
23:21Moved mountains.
23:22And so I thank you for that, because off, y'all and I have been doing this a while.
23:26And I've been on productions where I've been the only black person, the only female.
23:35And I needed things.
23:37And I didn't have anybody I could call.
23:39I just had to bite the bullet.
23:40And I had to show up every day with grace.
23:42And I had to do my job.
23:44It's happened more times than you would ever know.
23:46So to be in this position, that's why I tell y'all, this is special.
23:52This is special.
23:54This doesn't happen often.
23:56It's the thing about black women.
23:59They don't hear our tears.
24:00They don't hear our pain.
24:02That goes on in Hollywood.
24:05It goes on more often than you know.
24:07So when you see a black woman show up on the screen, notice she had to work quadruple hard,
24:13or whatever the word is, then her counterparts know that she's getting paid just a fraction
24:19of what her counterparts are getting paid.
24:21And we do it with grace each and every time.
24:25We show up and give it our all.
24:28Please take that into consideration.
24:30So thank you for everything you fought for for us and stood up for for us.
24:34Thank you so much.
24:37So beautiful.
24:38I just have a couple more questions.
24:40I don't want to leave here without talking about Blitz.
24:42Blitz, who I know you were so inspired by.
24:48Everyone on this here was so inspired by, and you talked about him wanting, him inspiring
24:54you to work even harder.
24:56So I just want to get thoughts on how your director pushed you through this.
25:03Well, first I got to go back to Miss O, man.
25:06I have to.
25:07My spirit is telling me to.
25:08As I've said a few times, the minute you called me on that Zoom, and you said, Sophia's a pretty
25:18name, I knew my life was about to change.
25:22And today, as I sit here, a nominee for the Golden Globes, I have you to thank for that.
25:31Oh, baby girl.
25:33I thank you.
25:34You did this thing.
25:36I thank you.
25:37You did this thing.
25:37I thank you so much.
25:40You know, you talk about being like the godmother of color purple.
25:44I'm Cinderella.
25:45And when the clock strikes 12, I'm keeping the dress and the shoes and the carriage, okay?
25:54So I thank you for that.
25:57But also, Blitz, you know, because when Miss O called me, that freed me up immediately.
26:04Because if Blitz would have called me, I would have been like, oh, man, thank you, thank you.
26:07But how does she feel?
26:09What does she want?
26:10Because I have to honor what she did and who she is.
26:14And so the fact that she called me gave me the permission to bring myself to the role.
26:22And then with Blitz, because he spent so much time for me, specifically six months, auditioning me when we got, yes.
26:33Like Taraji said, thank you, Grammy winner, Tony nominee for a year of my life on Broadway.
26:42I had to surrender.
26:44I had to get ego out of the way and say, like you said, this is bigger than me.
26:49So I did that.
26:51But I think because he took the time to really find the, not only the right actors, but the right spirits, the right aurors to come together,
27:01to make this really work, he allowed us to fly.
27:05He just said, go, make it yours.
27:09Like that scene that you see where Sophia kicks the door, he originally said, come through the door.
27:14I said, Sophia ain't going to just come through the door.
27:17She's going to bust that door wide open.
27:19He let me do that.
27:20And there was so many multiple, multiple moments like that that we had.
27:25And I'm not saying it in a sense that he wasn't directing us, but sometimes that's what leadership is.
27:30That is what directing is, is getting out of the way, picking, yeah, yeah.
27:35And I just want to close by saying this, these screenings, you've been doing a lot of them.
27:42And I feel like I haven't been to all of them, but I've been very emotional.
27:46What has, and the movie hasn't even come out yet.
27:48So what has all this meant for you?
27:53Because I know when we talked, you talked about how, Oprah, how important it was for them to have this moment and to have this ride.
28:01Yeah, during the strike, I was so, I had to give it to God.
28:04I had to surrender because I was like, I know what this ride feels like, just as Taraji was sharing with us.
28:10It's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's just a beautiful experience.
28:13And this is so rare.
28:16It's so rare where you have this real connection.
28:19And it's so rare where you have the material that fuels you and the energetic force feel of that material to continue to propel you through all of this.
28:31And I just wanted these moments for, for these ladies.
28:36And so the fact that it's absolutely happening as the way unfolding as it is, look what God has done.
28:43Look what God has done.
28:45Look what God has done.
28:46That's a beautiful way to end it.
28:48I wish I didn't have to end it.
28:49We have to end it, but thank you.
28:51But the sisterhood is real.
28:52Yeah.
28:52The sisterhood is real.
28:53And we feel, we feel inspired by something greater than ourselves.
28:57Absolutely.
28:58Well, thank you ladies for joining me.
29:00I wish you all success.
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