Latifah was best known as a rap artist in the 1990s when producers richard d. Queen latifah arrives to screening of hbo movie bessie. New york many viewers come to the hbo biopic bessie which premiered saturday night with scant knowledge of its subject, blues legend bessie smith. And queen latifah was positively glowing on wednesday when she arrived at the new york screening of bessie in a stylish black. Queen latifah stars as legendary blues singer bessie smith in this vivid portrait of a tenacious spirit who, despite her own demons, went on to become one of the most successful and influential musical artists of the 20th century. Is it true that queen latifah had been trying to get a bessie smith movie made for over 20 years. May 14, 2015 with bessie smith biopic, filmmaker dee rees gets queen latifah to bare her all for an untold story about the sexually liberated blues icon. Queen latifah is so convincing in the hbo biopic of blues singer bessie smith that youll find yourself googling the real empress of blues just to differentiate the two. Apr 14, 2017 queen latifah gives the performance of her career in hbos biopic of singer bessie smith. Queen latifah sings the blues in her new film bessie video. May 17, 2015 new york many viewers come to the hbo biopic bessie which premiered saturday night with scant knowledge of its subject, blues legend bessie smith.
May, 2015 a star vehicle and then some, bessie casts queen latifah as blues singer bessie smith, in a big, bold movie thats as vibrant, raw and musical as it is unfocused and messy. Queen latifah stars as bessie smith in this vivid portrait of the legendary 20th century blues singer. With a story by dee rees and horton foote, the film focuses on smiths transformation from a struggling young singer into the empress. Mar 14, 2020 queen latifah, american musician and actress. Queen latifah takes on nudity, sexuality, and the indomitable. And regular tv cinematographer jeffrey jur shoots too much of the film like a tv movie. Over fifty years of published art schiffer book for collectors by karen choppa, bessie pease gutmann. Queen latifahs new movie, hbos bessie, actually has been on her radar for more than 20 years. Watch the trailer for the hbo biopic, starring queen. Filmmaker dee rees gets queen latifah to bare all in bessie. Apr 03, 2015 check out the new trailer for bessie, the hbo biopic of blues singer bessie smith starring queen latifah, michael kenneth williams, and monique. Queen latifah is heading to hbo the rapper, actress, and talk show host will star in and exec produce a bessie smith biopic for the premium cable network the telepic revolves around iconic.
The story of legendary blues performer bessie smith, who rose to. Williams the right number of big moments without linking them together in the arc of a life. I was basically queen latifah, the hiphop head, queen latifah, the rapperturnedactress. Queen latifah to star in bessie smith biopic vulture. Written by bessie smith performed by queen latifah queen latifah performs courtesy of flavor unit records. May 18, 2015 bessie character spot queen latifah bessie hbo films. Queen latifah stars as legendary blues singer bessie smith in this vivid portrait of a tenacious spirit who, despite her own demons, went on to become one of the most successful and. Queen latifah sings the blues in her new film bessie. Nudity, bisexuality, belting the bluesshe says none of it scared her. Released 2015, bessie stars queen latifah, michael kenneth williams, khandi alexander, mike epps the movie has a runtime of about 2 hr 0 min, and received a score of out of 100 on metacritic.
Queen latifah stars in this biopic of pioneering singer bessie smith, depicting her tempestuous relationships and incomparable artistry in the downanddirty world of southern blues. Check out the new trailer for bessie, the hbo biopic of blues singer bessie smith starring queen latifah, michael kenneth williams, and monique. Bessie smith played by queen latifah on bessie hbo. This sexuallycharged, intense look at blues icon bessie smith often feels defiantly episodic, as if cowriterdirector dee rees is. May, 2015 queen latifah is so convincing in the hbo biopic of blues singer bessie smith that youll find yourself googling the real empress of blues just to differentiate the two. The film is directed by dee rees, with a screenplay by rees, christopher cleveland and bettina gilois. In hbos bessie, queen latifah stars as empress of the. Queen latifah stars as legendary blues singer bessie smith in this hbo films presentation, directed by acclaimed filmmaker dee rees named one of 20 filmmakers to watch by the new york times.
Queen latifah did her homework to play blues singer bessie smith in hbos movie bessie, airing saturday at 8 p. Bessie smith queen latifah is a young singer from chattanooga, tennessee. Bessie character spot queen latifah bessie hbo films teaser trailer. With queen latifah, kamryn johnson, rikki mckinney, alan t. In september 20, queen latifah became the host of her very own talk show which she produced with partner shakim compere, and overbrook entertainments will smith, jada smith and james lassiter. And queen latifah was positively glowing on wednesday when she arrived at the new york screening of. Hbo films presents bessie, focusing on legendary blues singer bessie smith, saturday, may 16 at 8pm.
Hbos bessie, premiering saturday on the network, is a flawed drama that nonetheless warrants a look simply because of the bright spotlight it gives the underrated talents of star queen latifah, who does quite easily the best work of her career here. An hbo films presentation, bessie stars oscar nominee queen latifah chicago in the title role and focuses on legendary blues singer bessie smiths transformation from a struggling young vocalist into the empress of the blues, one of the most successful recording artists of the 1920s and an enduring icon today. With a story by dee rees and horton foote, the film focuses on smith s transformation from a. Bessie tv movie 2015 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more.
Yeah, this project came pretty early in my career as an actress, latifah told npr. As bessie smiths mentor, ma rainey is every bit as fiery as bessie, demanding respect as an artist and as a woman and breaking gender and sexual norms. Memorable quotes and exchanges from movies, tv series and more. Queen latifah stars as smith, and supporting roles are played by michael kenneth williams as smith s first husband jack gee. Queen latifah stars as legendary blues singer bessie smith in this vivid portrait of a tenacious spirit who, despite her own demons, went on to become one of the most successful and influential. Jun 23, 2015 queen latifahs new movie, hbos bessie, actually has been on her radar for more than 20 years. Each june, the bessie smith cultural center in chattanooga sponsors the bessie smith strut as part of the citys riverbend festival. Queen latifah to star as bessie smith in hbo biopic. No one can sing like bessie smith, but queen latifah does have a great voice and comes pretty close to smiths. Bessie is an hbo tv film about the american blues singer bessie smith, and focuses on her transformation as a struggling young singer into the empress of the blues. May 10, 2015 queen latifah did her homework to play blues singer bessie smith in hbos movie bessie, airing saturday at 8 p. Life lessons from the queen, was released in may 2010.
On set with queen latifah for her first film, 1996s allfemale heist set it off. Hbo released a movie about smith, bessie, starring queen latifah, on may 16, 2015. The film focuses on smiths transformation from a struggling young singer into the empress of the blues, who became one of the most successful recording artists of the 1920s and is an enduring icon today. The story of legendary blues performer bessie smith, who rose to fame during the 1920s and 30s. Fats waller bessie bessie bessie hd officiel seniors jazz. Bessie character spot queen latifah bessie hbo films. Queen latifah did her homework to play blues singer bessie.
The film focuses on smiths transformation from a struggling young sing er into the empress of the blues, who became one of the most successful. No one can sing like bessie smith, but queen latifah does have a great voice and comes pretty close to smith s. Queen latifah to star in bessie smith biopic by amanda dobbins honoree queen latifah c speaks during the 2014 matrix awards at the waldorf astoria on april 28, 2014 in new york city. The nbc show timeless features bessie smith briefly in the season 2 episode the. Queen latifah filmography singer, songwriter, rapper, aactress, queen latifah is an american rapper, singersongwriter, actress, model, producer and talk show host who started her acting career in 1991 with small roles in the films jungle fever and house party 2, and the television show the fresh prince of belair. The first half of bessie feels a bit too calculated, too episodic in a way designed to give latifah and her costars including the great michael k. All about legendary blues singer bessie smiths rise from obscurity to international fame in this clip, oh. Jul 10, 2015 queen latifah stars as legendary blues singer bessie smith in this vivid portrait of a tenacious spirit who, despite her own demons, went on to become one of the most successful and influential. Queen latifah gives the performance of her career in hbos biopic of singer bessie smith. Not only does she star shes also an executive producer of the new hbo movie bessie. A star vehicle and then some, bessie casts queen latifah as blues singer bessie smith, in a big, bold movie thats as vibrant, raw and musical as it is unfocused and messy.