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Tuesday, March 23, 2010
AOL Black Voices is reporting that Tyler Perry has finally announced casting for the highly anticipated film adaptation of Ntozake Shange's hit Broadway play "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Was Enuf".
AOL Black Voices reports:
At last night's premiere for his latest film, ''Why Did I Get Married Too?,' the black box-office maverick revealed that the cast will include Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Whoopi Goldberg, Phylicia Rashad, Jurnee Smollett, Kimberly Elise, Kerry Washington, and Macy Gray.
Based on Ntozake Shange's award-winning 1975 play, the film is scheduled to shoot in June in New York with a possible winter 2010/ 2011 release date.
The riveting play, consisting of a series of poems performed through a cast of nameless women, known only by a color -- deal with such subjects as love, abandonment, rape, and abortion, garnered much acclaim, becoming the toast of Broadway when it opened at The Booth Theater in 1976.
This project has been entrenched in controversy since news broke last year that Tyler Perry would be the director responsible for bringing this masterpiece that is so important to black women everywhere to the big screen. A simple google search will result in countless articles doubting Perry's ability to masterfully tackle such an important piece of work. And there was plenty of venting on Twitter this morning when I began a discussion about the casting. See for yourself below.
What happened to Oprah Winfrey being involved in this project? I was actually looking forward to seeing her on the big screen again. Let's keep our fingers crossed and pray that Tyler Perry does this film justice, otherwise black women are going to revolt.
5 Comments:
Such an important and powerful piece of literature, theater, art and culture reduced to the complete leverage of power producing commerce. Oh since Tyler Perry is involved so it will have MESS-age!
Kirk | WWW.FLICKERIA.COM
March 23, 2010 12:37 PM
I think Oprah pulled out because she only wants to be involved in positive and surely successful projects. This sounds like a project that will be problematic. Oprah probably didn't want any part of it. Each one of those artists are stars in their own craft, but they don't have the type of talent (IMHO) to pull this off. This is what I thought last year when I first heard about this, and now that I know who are pegged to star in it, my feelings remain the same.
But nonetheless, I wish them success, I really do.
March 23, 2010 8:12 PM
I think two things. There is a small population of people who remember when this play was big on Broadway *35* years ago. Yes, it's been produced by every black student group on every college campus since then, but the aura around the original production is a rapidly fading memory for all but a few of us old farts, like me.
Second, you have a very large population of mostly young people, but also older folks who don't do theater, who have no personal history, memory or feelings about the play. They may have heard the name and know in a general way what it's about, but they don't put the play up on a pedestal.
For the first group, Tyler Perry better do it right or his name will be mud. But remember, this is a small population.
For the second group, it's all about the big name stars who will be in the show. They will give it chance based solely on the names attached to it. Their expectations are relatively low and so the only place to go is up.
Like his other films it will draw the church crowd (his core audience) and the curiosity seekers and will probably make back it's investment plus some. Will it be any good? Who knows and few will care.
March 23, 2010 8:29 PM
i always say anything that is set in stone thru god will always be a good thing so i say more power to you tyler.i can't wait to see god work thru you janet phylicia whoopi and even mariah because we have so many of our stories still left untold
March 23, 2010 9:47 PM
I AM THRILLED THAT BEYONCE IS NOT INVOLVED!!!!
That said, it's too easy to say the casting will be controversial. The naysayers will run their mouths and drive folks to the theatre.
No one has mentioned this, but perhaps this production is Tyler's foray into more serious films with this new production company. I am sure he knows Madea and church films can't sustain or grow his company.
The casting makes me quite pleased and I am sure I am in the minority here. Jurnee, Kerry, Phylicia, Janet and Whoopi tearin' up some scenery? Oh yes, ma'am...
Perhaps this company will push Janet to bring her game up even more and really define herself as an actress.
We used to do this play annually at my HBCU but I haven't seen a production since. I am keeping my fingers crossed...
March 23, 2010 11:25 PM
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