Bessie Smith film

[Christiern]

A shameless promotion...

[jazzbo]

Certainly the right choice of star. Could be good.

[gslade]

Thanks for the heads up Chris. I think Queen is an excellent choice. Looking forward to this production. Just ordered the book and will squeeze it into my reading queue.

[Bright Moments]

congratulations!

[GA Russell]

Sounds great, Chris! I hope that it spurs interest in your book as well.

[l p]

biopics always suck. even if the writing is good, 2-3 hours is just not enough time to tell the story.

Edited May 12, 2014 by l p

[PHILLYQ]

Chris, I hope they make a great movie out of this. Very good star, she has genuine talent.

[jazzbo]

Yes, once I saw her singing in "Chicago" I knew she would be the right choice for Bessie. I've even said so in the past on this forum. I hope they do the material proud.

[medjuck]

Since this is for HBO, unlike most films that get announced this one will probably get made. Chris, I hope you're staying involved.

[Neal Pomea]

Hmmm. Just as long as it's not anachronistic as on Boardwalk Empire.

[Chuck Nessa]

Cash the check and be well.

[medjuck]

Hmmm. Just as long as it's not anachronistic as on Boardwalk Empire.

I felt that way too but whenever I tried to point out examples they were trivial. Did you notice any major ones?

[AllenLowe]

I actually think the original choice for Bessie - Katie Perry - was much better. With Puff Diddy as her pimp boyfriend who sells her into prostitution where she's rescued by the love of a good man, played by Hugh Jackman, who wisks her off to the new inter-planetary colony established by Sun Ra on the moon.

Edited May 15, 2014 by AllenLowe

[Christiern]

Since this is for HBO, unlike most films that get announced this one will probably get made. Chris, I hope you're staying involved.

Thank you. There have been many options, many hopelessly inappropriate stars (can you believe Dionne Warwick?), some interesting directors (incl. Jules Dassin, V. Minelli), etc. Columbia Pictures rejected a ridiculous script by Melvin van Peeples (who had Bessie as the second black heavyweight champion of the world—see Roberta Flack photo he had made) and we actually went into pre-production with Horton Foote's script, but a financial scandal at the studio halted that one. The current project is already underway. The first music session takes place today and shooting is scheduled to begin in Atlanta about a month from now.

[Neal Pomea]

Hmmm. Just as long as it's not anachronistic as on Boardwalk Empire.

I felt that way too but whenever I tried to point out examples they were trivial. Did you notice any major ones?

I was thinking of the way Daughter Maitland sang in a more modern style than those blues women who belted out songs at full volume. Good singer, but probably influenced more by Billie Holliday than Bessie Smith.

Edited May 15, 2014 by Neal Pomea

[GA Russell]

My impulse is to ignore the movie, and buy the book!

I've put it on my Amazon wishlist, Chris!