Oprah Winfrey.Photo: Getty Images
Oprah Winfreyis reflecting on the movie that altered the trajectory of her life.
“They were only offering $35,000 to be in this film,” the media mogul, 69, said of the paycheck for her feature film debut. “And it is the best $35,000 I ever earned.”
In conversation with the stars of director Blitz Bazawule and screenwriter Marcus Gardley’s upcomingmovie musicalThe Color Purple—Fantasia Barrino,Danielle Brooks,Taraji P. Hensonand H.E.R. — Winfrey added that playing Sofia in the original film “changed everything and taught me so much. It is God moving through my life.”
Oprah Winfrey in “The Color Purple” (1985).Warner Bros/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock
At the 2016 Essence Fest, Winfrey described her obsession with Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and determination to make it onto Spielberg’s set. “I didn’t need a speaking role. I was willing to carry the script, help people with the water," she said at the time, reportsEntertainment Weekly.
OnThe Oprah Winfrey Showand ininterviewssince, producer and composerQuincy Jonesconfirmed that he glimpsed Winfrey onscreen in her job as a local television host in Chicago. As Winfrey remembered, “Quincy Jones calls Reuben Cannon, the casting agent, and says ‘I think I found Sofia.' ”
Playing Sofia in the newColor Purplemovie is Brooks, 34, who earned a Tony nomination for her performance in the role during the 2016 Broadway revival of Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, Stephen Bray and Marsha Norman’s musical. That production costarredJennifer Hudsonand a Tony-winningCynthia Erivo.
In anOprahDaily.comrecap ofa visitin May to the set of the new film, Winfrey wrote that she “unexpectedly burst into happy tears at the very first sight of the gifted Danielle Brooks… It felt like the baton was truly being passed on in one of the most special moments in my life. We both hugged and ugly cried together.”
“Thank you for laying the blueprint for Sofia,” Brooks told Winfrey inEssence. “I know that she’s changed your life, and I can feel that mine is about to shift, too. Thank you for leaving space for me but also being there, to hold my hand and answer that phone call when I needed you. You have been such a light, such a beautiful soul.”
Barrino assumed the leading role of Celie in the musical’s original Broadway production in 2007, taking over from the Tony-winning LaChanze. TheAmerican Idolwinner now followsWhoopi Goldbergin the same role on the big screen.
Danielle Brooks and Corey Hawkins in “The Color Purple” (2023).Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
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Winfrey, who serves as producer of the upcoming movie musical, said in footage that Warner Bros. Picturesshared with PEOPLE, “There’s nothing that’s been more important or vital to me culturally or artistically thanThe Color Purple. It is a solid base of spiritual and emotional power for me.”
The Color PurplecostarsHalle Bailey, Corey Hawkins, Jon Batiste, Louis Gossett Jr., David Alan Grier, Colman Domingo, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Deon Cole and Ciara. It will arrive in theaters on Dec. 25.
source: people.com
