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Will Fantasia Star in Film of The Color Purple Musical?
By Andrew Gans
and Adam Hetrick
06 Mar 2008
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Fantasia Barrino in the recent Broadway production of The Color Purple.
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| photo by Paul Kolnik | It looks like "The Color Purple" is headed back to the silver screen.
"American Idol" winner Fantasia Barrino, who made her Broadway debut as Celie in the musical The Color Purple, told MTV News that she will star in a film version of the Broadway musical, which itself was based on both the original film and the Alice Walker novel.
Oprah Winfrey, who earned an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Sofia in the 1985 Steven Spielberg film and was the presenting producer of the Broadway musical, will also be involved with the new film, according to Barrino.
Barrino, who succeeded Tony winner La Chanze in the Broadway production, told MTV News, "[The movie musical is] going to happen and I'm going to do it." The film won't begin production until the singer-actress completes her new album.
"We haven't started yet because I'm going to work on my album," Barrino said. "I think it's fair that I committed myself, and promised that after I finish going on a tour, I'll be ready to come back and commit myself to Miss Celie again. . . They're going to work with me. They don't have to [but] that's a favor. Working with someone like Miss Oprah who's so talented and amazing - It's a blessing."
The Broadway production of The Color Purple played its final performance at the Broadway Theatre Feb. 24. The musical played a total of 30 previews and 910 regular performances.
Gary Griffin directed Purple, which features a score by pop writers Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray and a book by Pulitzer Prize winner Marsha Norman. The musical began previews Nov. 1, 2005, and officially opened at the Broadway Theatre Dec. 1, 2005.
The additional Broadway producing team included Quincy Jones, Roy Furman, Creative Battery, Anna Fantaci & Cheryl Lachowicz, Independent Presenters Network, Lowy Family Group, Stephanie McClelland, Gary Winnick, Jan Kallish, Andrew Asnes & Adam Zotovich and Todd Johnson.
Fantasia Barrino won "American Idol" in May 2004, in the show's third season. She has released two solo albums, "Free Yourself" in 2004 and "Fantasia" in December 2006.
Whoopi Goldberg created the role of Celie in the original 1985 "The Color Purple" film, which was directed by Steven Spielberg.
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