Fantasia Barrino on how ‘The Color Purple’ will ‘bring healing’: ‘I haven’t spoken to my family in over 20 years’ … until now

Thursday night at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Los Angeles, the cast and crew of Warner Bros.’ “The Color Purple” dazzled audiences in its first-ever showing. Lead actress Fantasia Barrino was joined by fellow cast members Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, Gabriella “H.E.R.” Wilson, Halle Bailey and Phylicia Pearl Mpasi, plus director Blitz Bazawule and producers Scott Sanders and Oprah Winfrey.

After a screening of this film adaptation of the stage musical, which in turn was based on Alice Walker‘s 1982 novel of the same name, Variety’s Angelique Jackson moderated a nearly hour-long panel in which the tears flowed openly. It was a long time getting to this point, from the movie’s initial announcement in November 2018, to casting and filming, and then the 118-day actors’ strike.

More from GoldDerby

• 'Saltburn' will bring Barry Keoghan back to Golden Globes

• Fond farewells: Every actor who got an Oscar nomination for their final film

• Alex Lacamoire ('Sweeney Todd') describes how to 'capture the magic' of Broadway on a cast album [Exclusive Video Interview]

“This is why I said it’s gonna bring healing,” Barrino told the packed theater at the end of the panel. “If you haven’t realized the healing amongst us, that’s gonna come through the screens.”

SEE Oscar Experts Typing: How many supporting actress slots will ‘The Color Purple’ snag?

The legendary “American Idol” winner then got emotional as she revealed to the audience, “I haven’t spoken to my family in over 20 years. They sent me a text and said they all rented out a movie theater and they’re going to see the movie. So the healing and the love that ‘The Color Purple’ is gonna bring, as you can see that has lived through us, will live through those screens. And people, in this time with everything that’s going on, we need.”

Earlier in the evening, Barrino talked about playing the role of Celie on Broadway and why she initially said “nope” to reprising the character for the big screen, because she was “married and happy.” She added, “It wasn’t until Blitz called me and he’s like, ‘Let me show you something.’ I was like, ‘Okay.’ He gave Celie an imagination. And that’s when I was like, ‘Okay, I’m in.’ Real talk, because he allowed me to see, or you guys to see, what women go through and how we sometimes have to imagine ourselves in a different place before we get there.” Watch a clip below:

SEE Colman Domingo (‘Rustin’ and ‘The Color Purple’) on bringing a civil rights visionary ‘out of the shadows of history’ [Exclusive Video Interview]

Barrino shouted, “Okay, you got me! Lord, carry me!” when she finally agreed to the role. And when she first “got on set,” she realized immediately she was surrounded by “amazing, real-life, walking Oscars,” referring to all of her co-stars. Speaking of Oscars, “The Color Purple” is predicted to be competitive in multiple categories this year, including Barrino herself in Best Actress.

“I was able to go back and dig into some things that I thought I had let go of,” Barrino explained about returning to the popular character. “But this time playing Celie, from when I played her on Broadway, was different. I’m grown now. And I realize that Celie was not so bad. I thought it was bad back then, but I just related to her. My life was in shambles, so it was a different weight that I carried.” With a smile, she declared, “This time I realized, she was pretty dope.”

“The Color Purple” will be released wide in theaters on Christmas Day, December 25, 2023.

PREDICT the 2024 Oscar nominees through January 23

Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone devices or Android (Google Play) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify Hollywood chiefs and stars. Don’t miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our famous forums where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why?

SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions

Best of GoldDerby

• 'Poor Things' producers Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe on 'the most ambitious film we'd ever been involved in' [Exclusive Video Interview]

• Revisiting Penelope Cruz's 4 Oscar nominations in honor of 'Ferrari'

• Niousha Noor (‘The Persian Version’) discusses the ‘honor to show the strength of a mother’ and an Iranian immigrant [Exclusive Video Interview]

Sign up for Gold Derby's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.