Oprah screens first The Color Purple trailer at CinemaCon
The self-procalimed "not your mama's Color Purple" hits theaters Christmas Day
Warner Bros. kicked off their CinemaCon presentation by giving everyone a car. Well, sort of; they invited Oprah Winfrey to present the first trailer for the upcoming musical adaptation of The Color Purple. Based on the Alice Walker novel as well as the Broadway musical, the latest Winfrey-produced Color Purple leans into those extravagant theatrics. As the trailer says, “This ain’t your mama’s Color Purple.” Still, as Winfrey later qualified, “Your mama’s still gonna love it.”
The trailer is very much an adaptation of a Broadway musical, filled with bombast and brass. Trading Spielberg’s melodrama for lavish setpieces, the movie leans into the magical realism of the story with visual flare, jumping from time periods and characters, from swamps to nightclubs with Baz Luhrman-like energy. It really does not look anything like the original.
“It holds great personal meaning to me,” said Winfrey. “When I was cast in the film, it was my first acting role, and now we’re doing a brand new version of The Color Purple, that could only happen with the perfect director, who envisioned the film like the Broadway musical, bringing in magical realism and family wholesomeness.”
Winfrey turned the mic over to the director, Blitz Bazawule.
“I started this journey with the utmost respect and love for you and Alice Walker, whose book gave us this amazing story,” Bazawule said. “The Color Purple as a story is known and treasured all over the world because it’s about finding your voice, your family, and breaking through obstacles.”
After the trailer, Winfrey welcomed the film’s three leads Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, and Fantasia Barrino. Henson said that she did monologues of the show in theater school but turned down an audition for the show.
“I remember being approached when it was on Broadway about auditioning for Suge, and I totally punked out,” said Henson. “When it came around again, I figured, ‘one and done’ that’s something that my voice can handle.” Of course, Brooks played Sophia on Broadway for a year, so this was probably a breeze for her.
The Color Purple hit theaters on Christmas Day.