{"id":64543,"date":"2023-12-27T02:14:34","date_gmt":"2023-12-27T02:14:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/12\/27\/the-color-purple-director-talks-whoopi-goldberg-surprise-cameo\/"},"modified":"2023-12-27T02:14:34","modified_gmt":"2023-12-27T02:14:34","slug":"the-color-purple-director-talks-whoopi-goldberg-surprise-cameo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/12\/27\/the-color-purple-director-talks-whoopi-goldberg-surprise-cameo\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The Color Purple\u2019 Director Talks Whoopi Goldberg Surprise Cameo"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Paul Morigi\/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Pictures<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Director Blitz Bazawule<\/strong> is wowing audiences with his musical adaptation of The Color Purple<\/em> \u2014 which includes one major surprise cameo.<\/p>\n

Warning: Spoilers below for The Color Purple.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The movie, which hit theaters on Monday, December 25, is based on Alice Walker\u2019s Pulitzer-prize-winning novel of the same name. Taking inspiration from the book \u2014 as well as the Broadway play and Steven Spielberg\u2019s<\/strong> 1985 film adaption \u2014 the 2023 film once again follows Celie (Fantasia Barrino<\/strong>) as she overcomes various hardships in her life while living in early 20th-century Georgia.<\/p>\n

While Barrino, 39 \u2014 who portrayed the character on Broadway from 2007 to 2008 \u2014 stars in the latest adaptation, Whoopi Goldberg<\/strong><\/a> previously scored her first Oscar nomination for her performance as Celie in Spielberg\u2019s version. Goldberg\u2019s iconic portrayal was something Bazawule knew he wanted to honor.<\/p>\n

While speaking with the Los Angeles Times<\/em><\/a> on Tuesday, December 26, Bazawule shared that he initially considered bringing Goldberg, 68, back as Celie\u2019s mother, but the choice felt \u201ctoo on the nose.\u201d He instead cast her as a midwife who helps Phylicia Pearl Mouse\u2019s<\/strong> young Celie deliver a baby at the beginning of the film.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\tRelated: <\/span>‘The Color Purple’: Everything to Know About the New Movie Musical<\/a>
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\n\t\t\tFrom Broadway to the big screen! The Color Purple musical is the next Broadway show to earn a film adaptation. The musical production takes inspiration from the 1982 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker and the 1985 feature film of the same name. The award-winning drama, which made its Broadway debut in 2005, earned eleven [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cSymbolically, that felt like the perfect part, because she\u2019s the one to not only encourage her during the birth, but it\u2019s like she herself gave birth to the role and now we see her passing it down,\u201d screenwriter Marcus Gardley\u00a0<\/strong>told the outlet. \u201cIt\u2019s one of the most beautiful scenes because you see [Goldberg] looking upon [Mpasi] with pride and telling her, \u2018You can do it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Bazawule, meanwhile, gushed over Goldberg\u2019s warm presence on set. \u201cWe had to stop and laugh because of everything [Whoopi] did, and you forget that she comes from stand-up [comedy],\u201d he said. \u201cBut more than anything, I just remember how caring and loving she was to Phylicia.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that Goldberg\u2019s role in the movie was \u201csymbolic not only because of what Whoopi represents in the canon of The Color Purple<\/em>,\u201d but what she represents overall. \u201cThe juggernaut that she is,\u201d he explained. \u201cAnd the doors she kicked open.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Color Purple<\/em> initially hit the stage in 2005, earning eleven Tony nominations in June 2006. Barrino joined as Celie in 2007 until the show\u2019s doors closed the following year. In 2015, the musical opened with a new cast, earning two Tony Awards, including one for Best Revival of a Musical.<\/p>\n

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While Barrino agreed to reprise the role for the 2023 film, she was initially hesitant<\/a> to revisit Celie as a character.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I felt and carried stepping into her shoes and playing her role, I wasn\u2019t ready to go back to that,\u201d she told Entertainment Weekly<\/em><\/a> earlier this month. However, it was Bazawule\u2019s fresh perspective on the story that eventually drew her in. When he told Barrino, \u201cI\u2019m giving her an imagination so that the people will be able to see certain things,\u201d her mind was changed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said, \u2018Well, you got me. You got me. I got to do it one more<\/a> time,\u2019\u201d Barrino recalled. \u201cWhat Blitz is coming with with this Color Purple,<\/em> it\u2019s necessary for this generation.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the book, Celie writes letters to God detailing the traumatic events of her past from an abusive stepfather and husband. The 2023 theatrical feature uses magical realism during songs to show the audience what Celie is thinking.<\/p>\n

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