The feature adaptation of The Color Purple Broadway musical at Warner Bros. has found its director in Blitz Bazawule. The film is not a remake of the feature starring Whoopi Goldberg, but rather an adaptation of the musical for the big screen.
According to the exclusive report from Deadline, producers Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Scott Sanders, and Quincy Jones went with Bzawule after seeing his film, The Burial Of Kojo, on Netflix.
“We were all blown away by Blitz’s unique vision as a director and look forward to seeing how he brings the next evolution of this beloved story to life,” Winfrey said.
He co-directed Black is King with Beyoncé and Emmanuel Adjei, spearheading the film’s South African shoot. After a Zoom pitch, Warner Bros. moved fast to ink a deal.
Marcus Gardley is adapting the screenplay, based on the Broadway version of Alice Walker’s seminal novel. The Broadway musical first debuted in 2005, getting 11 Tony nominations. LaChanze won a Tony for her role as Celie. In the 2015 revival, it picked up four other nods, including one for Cynthia Erivo.
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Photo: Getty / Playbill
