Video: Halle Bailey Wraps Filming On THE COLOR PURPLE Movie with A Gift From Oprah!

The Color Purple film is set to be released in 2023.

By: Jun. 30, 2022
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The Color Purple musical movie is currently currently being filmed in Georgia and this week, young star, Halle Bailey, wrapped her portion of filming, celebrating with a sweet gift from producer, Oprah Winfrey. Bailey will portray young Nettie in the film.

Go inside her wrap celebration below!

The story depicts the lives of African American families and relationships in early twentieth-century Georgia. The musical, featuring jazz, ragtime, gospel, blues and African rhythms, has a book by Marsha Norman with music by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray. It first premiered on Broadway in 2005; a 2016 revival garnered Tony wins for leading actress Cynthia Erivo and for Best Revival of a Musical.

The Color Purple is based on the 1982 novel of the same name by Alice Walker. It was originally adapted into a non-musical film in 1985, starring Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, and more.

Fantasia Barrino will lead the cast of the film as Celie. Danielle Brooks will reprise her Tony-nominated performance as Sofia, which we played in the musical's 2016 revival. Taraji P. Henson is slated to play Shug Avery.

The star-studded film also includes Corey Hawkins as Harpo, H.E.R. as Squeak, Colman Domingo as Mister. Bailey and Ciara will share the role of Celie's beloved sister, Nettie, with Bailey playing the younger version of the character and Ciara playing the older version.

Oscar-nominee Aunjanue Ellis will play Celie and Nettie's mother, a new role for the film that was not included in the musical.

Elizabeth Marvel plays Miss Millie, another new role for the film, the unpleasant wife of the town's mayor who hires Sofia to be her maid.

GRAMMY-winner Jon Batiste will make his feature film acting debut in the film as Grady, a piano man and the husband of Shug Avery (Henson).

The cast is rounded out by Louis Gossett, Jr. will play the role of Ol' Mister, David Alan Grier is Reverend Avery, Tamela J. Mann will play First Lady, Phylicia Pearl Mpasi is Young Celie, Deon Cole is Alfonso, and Stephen Hill will play the role of Buster.

Most recently, Terrence J. Smith and Tiffany Elle Burgess were added to the cast to play Adam and Olivia, respectively. Aba Arthur has also joined the cast in an unspecified role.

Blitz Bazawule is directing the new film. Bazawule is most known for directing the Beyonce feature Black Is KING on Disney+.

Producer Oprah Winfrey revealed to Deadline that she had been "blown away by Blitz's unique vision as a director" and looks forward to seeing how he brings the next evolution of the story to life.

The musical, featuring jazz, ragtime, gospel, blues and African rhythms, has a book by Marsha Norman with music by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray. The film features songs including "I'm Here," "What About Love?," and "Too Beautiful For Words."

The Color Purple is based on the 1982 novel of the same name by Alice Walker. It was originally adapted into a non-musical film in 1985, starring Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, and more.

The film features several new characters not present in the musical, including Reverand Avery, First Lady, Alfonso, Miss Millie, and Celie's mother.

Additionally, the role of Nettie will be played by two actors in the film, which differs from the musical version. The new film will feature Halle Bailey as a young Nettie and Ciara as an older version of the character.

The Color Purple film is set to be released in 2023.



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