Whoopi Goldberg Garners Standing Ovation : The cast of the upcoming film “The Color Purple” (set to release on Dec. 25) is expressing gratitude to Whoopi Goldberg, marking 40 years since her portrayal of Celie in Steven Spielberg’s 11-time Oscar-nominated film.
During Wednesday’s episode of “The View,” Fantasia Barrino-Taylor, Danielle Brooks, and Taraji P. Henson, prominent members of the cast of the musical film “The Color Purple,” led the studio audience in giving Whoopi Goldberg a standing ovation. Expressing their gratitude, Brooks, who plays the role of Sofia (which earned Oprah Winfrey her first Oscar nomination), stated, “We wouldn’t be here without you.”
The director of the film, Blitz Bazawule, initiated the moment of appreciation when Goldberg inquired about the change in his initial hesitation to helm the project.
“‘The Color Purple,’ it’s sacred ground. You don’t just show up to it with nothing to offer or nothing to contribute,” he expressed. “It’s been a brilliant, Pulitzer Prize-winning book. It’s an incredible cinematic classic, and we owe you.”
Barrino-Taylor, portraying Celie in the upcoming film, begins rising in her chair as she applauds. Everyone behind the desk, including co-hosts Sunny Hostin and Sara Haines, stands up to join in a standing ovation.
Directing “The Color Purple” for Bazawule meant “going back to Alice (Walker’s) brilliant words” and “finding these brilliant women to bring life into that,” he explained. Colman Domingo and Corey Hawkins also star in the movie.
Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning coming-of-age novel was published in 1982. Spielberg’s adaptation, featuring Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey, and Margaret Avery, was released three years later. The film received Academy Award nominations for Goldberg (best actress in a leading role), Avery (best actress in a supporting role), and Winfrey (best actress in a supporting role).
Earlier this month, Oprah Winfrey, the producer of the latest adaptation of “The Color Purple,” paid tribute to Henson, Barrino-Taylor, and Brooks at the Elle Women in Hollywood celebration in Los Angeles. Winfrey crafted personalized speeches for each woman and referred to Barrino-Taylor as “a phoenix rising.”
“You saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself a long time ago, and I know you were just waiting for me to get it right,” Barrino-Taylor expressed in an emotional speech to Winfrey. “You were just waiting for me to see it, and I see it now.”