I love the original 1985 film The Color Purple. Whenever it’s on TV, I get caught up in a rewatch. Steven Spielberg was criticized heavily for adapting Alice Walker’s book for the screen, but I still think Spielberg did an amazing job with the material and the casting was wonderful. All of which might explain why my general reaction to the musical remake of Walker’s book is “blah.” I’m loyal to the original film, even though the reviews of the new musical adaptation are pretty great. As the actors have promoted the musical film, I’ve developed a new reason to avoid it though – it sounds like the actors were treated like sh-t, they weren’t paid properly and they weren’t taken care of by the producers whatsoever. Taraji P. Henson plays Shug Avery, and Taraji has been really open about how poorly the cast was treated in multiple interviews:
Taraji P. Henson said in a recent interview with The New York Times that she and her co-stars on “The Color Purple” got “a lot of stuff on that set” because she fought for it behind the scenes. One such example was rides and security to the film’s Atlanta set, as the production allegedly offered the cast rental cars at first and expected the actors to drive themselves to set.
“They gave us rental cars, and I was like, ‘I can’t drive myself to set in Atlanta.’ This is insurance liability, it’s dangerous. Now they robbing people. What do I look like, taking myself to work by myself in a rental car?” Henson said. “So I was like, ‘Can I get a driver or security to take me?’ I’m not asking for the moon. They’re like, ‘Well, if we do it for you, we got to do it for everybody.’ Well, do it for everybody! It’s stuff like that, stuff I shouldn’t have to fight for. I was on the set of ‘Empire’ fighting for trailers that wasn’t infested with bugs.”
“It wears on your soul because you fight so hard to establish a name for yourself and be respected in this town to no avail,” Henson continued. “With Black films, they just don’t want to take us overseas and I don’t understand that. Black translates all over the world, so why wouldn’t the movies? I have a following in China of all places. Y’all not going to capitalize on that? Don’t everybody want to make money here? I’m not the person that pulls the race card every time, but what else is it, then? Tell me. I’d rather it not be race, please give me something else.”
A driver wasn’t the only thing Henson had to speak up to get on “The Color Purple” set. During a recent Q&A for the film presented by THR, Danielle Brooks revealed the actors did not initially get their own dressing rooms when they showed up for rehearsals, nor was food provided to them at that time. Henson contacted producer Oprah Winfrey to correct this. Brooks called Henson a “guide” and “our voice box” on set.
“I remember when we first came and we’re doing rehearsals, they put us all in the same space,” Brooks said. “We didn’t have our own dressing rooms at the time. We didn’t have our own food…[Oprah] corrected it for us. [Taraji] was our voice. This was my first studio film. Sometimes you do come in saying, ‘Ok, I’ll take whatever they give me. I’m just happy to be here.’ But [Taraji] spoke up for us. You showed me how to do that.” Henson remembered being on the phone with Oprah once word got out that the cast did not have dressing rooms or food at rehearsals. She told the mega-producer, “We gotta fix this.”
Henson nearly passed on “The Color Purple” due to pay and because she was forced to audition for the role of Shug Avery despite being the director’s top choice. During a viral SiriusXM interview last month, Henson broke down in tears while discussing the pay disparity issues she still faces in Hollywood despite her success on “Empire” and having an Oscar nomination under her belt.
“I’m just tired of working so hard, being gracious at what I do [and] getting paid a fraction of the cost,” Henson said. “I’m tired of hearing my sisters say the same thing over and over…Every time I do something and break another glass ceiling, when it’s time to renegotiate I’m at the bottom again like I never did what I just did, and I’m tired. I’m tired. It wears on you. What does that mean? What is that telling me? If I can’t fight for them coming up behind me then what the f–k am I doing?”
My heart breaks for Taraji and it’s been breaking for weeks now as the promotion ramped up – for the producers to treat her this way, to not pay her properly, to not even guarantee a car and driver to and from the set? And Taraji wasn’t even the one who revealed the fact that the actors weren’t even given separate dressing rooms or FOOD?? Like, WTF was Oprah doing? Oprah executive produced this version and the fact that Taraji had to keep calling Oprah to get this sh-t fixed is WILD.
Speaking of Oprah, she was asked if she’s beefing with Taraji because Taraji has called out TCP’s producers for how she and the actors were treated. Oprah said:
“I would just like to say about this whole Taraji thing … I heard I was trending yesterday. People are saying that I was not supporting Taraji. Taraji will tell you herself that I’ve been the greatest champion of this film. Championing not only the behind the scenes projection but also everything that everybody needed. So whenever I heard that there was something that someone needed, I’m not in charge of the budget because that’s Warner Brothers you know that’s the way the studio system works. We as producers, everybody gets their salary everybody is negotiated by your team. And so, whenever I heard there was an issue or there was a problem, there was a problem with a cars or the problem with their food, I would step in and do whatever I could to make it right. And I believe that she would even vouch for that and say that is true.”
Like, I believe that Oprah would correct things when Taraji called her and personally asked for drivers or FOOD, but that doesn’t answer the question of what the hell producers (like OPRAH) were thinking when they were organizing the production. Oprah might not have beef with Taraji, but I’m sure Oprah isn’t pleased that Taraji is speaking honestly about how poorly she was treated on a film Oprah executive produced.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
-
- LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 06: Taraji P. Henson attends the World Premiere of Warner Bros.’ “The Color Purple” at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on December 06, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.,Image: 827643793, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Taraji P. Henson, Credit line: Jeffrey Mayer / Avalon
-
- MANHATTAN, NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, USA – DECEMBER 12: Danielle Brooks, Blitz Bazawule, Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson and Oprah Winfrey attend as Oprah Winfrey And The Cast Of Warner Bros.’ ‘The Color Purple’ Light The Empire State Building PURPLE to celebrate the 2023 film’s release on December 12, 2023 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States.,Image: 829154689, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Danielle Brooks, Blitz Bazawule, Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, Oprah Winfrey, Credit line: Jordan Hinton / Image Press Agency / Avalon
-
- MANHATTAN, NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, USA – DECEMBER 12: Taraji P. Henson, Fantasia Barrino, Oprah Winfrey and Blitz Bazawule attend as Oprah Winfrey And The Cast Of Warner Bros.’ ‘The Color Purple’ Light The Empire State Building PURPLE to celebrate the 2023 film’s release on December 12, 2023 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States.,Image: 829154808, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Taraji P. Henson, Fantasia Barrino, Oprah Winfrey, Blitz Bazawule, Credit line: Jordan Hinton / Image Press Agency / Avalon
-
- MANHATTAN, NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, USA – DECEMBER 12: American actress Taraji P. Henson wearing Max Mara attends as Oprah Winfrey And The Cast Of Warner Bros.’ ‘The Color Purple’ Light The Empire State Building PURPLE to celebrate the 2023 film’s release on December 12, 2023 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States.,Image: 829154823, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Taraji P. Henson, Credit line: Jordan Hinton / Image Press Agency / Avalon
-
- NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 12: Oprah Winfrey. Danielle Brooks, Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson and Blitz Bazawule pictured as the cast of The Color Purple light the Empire State Building Purple celebrating itŐs release in New York City on December 12, 2023. Copyright: xMediaPunchx,Image: 829208754, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO/MediaPunch / Avalon
-
- BEVERLY HILLS, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA – JANUARY 07: Oprah Winfrey wearing a Louis Vuitton dress, Manolo Blahnik shoes, and Chopard jewels arrives at the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 7, 2024 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 835216318, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Oprah Winfrey, Credit line: Xavier Collin / Image Press Agency / Avalon
That’s because it was just a producing credit – she wasn’t an active producer. This happens all the time in Hollywood. Someone will get a producing credit but it doesn’t mean that they are actively involved in the production.
Exactly.
She’s Oprah and she was in the original. She attached her name to it as a selling point and so it would be taken seriously by those bankrolling it, crews, other producers and during distribution.
I doubt very much she was in any way a part of actually planning the shoot.
T called Oprah and was like – friend this 💩 is f-ed. and Oprah was like – I’m gonna call you back. I got this. Text me the details.
Exactly. I’m tired of people trying to find reasons to blame Oprah. Plus, this just another example of the studio being cheap. She is not hands on and she wasn’t on set all the time. What’s next? Y’all gonna blame her for not curing cancer? She wasn’t the only EP.
I don’t know how big the budget was for this, but production is not obliged to provide catering during prep, for crew or cast, nor are drivers standard for cast. When none of this is provided it’s usually for budget reasons, i.e. they can’t afford it and would rather put the costs elsewhere. I work in production so it’s rather grating to hear an actor complain about this kind of thing when production is usually doing the best they can. But like I said, I don’t know anything about this project or the budget so perhaps she had a legit reason for complaining.
There’s a great line in the film State and Main that an associate producer credit is what you give your secretary instead of a raise.
@ANNA I was a contestant on a reality TV competition (in Canada no less), which had a tiny fraction of the budget of ‘The Color Purple’, yet I had a driver for transportation to and from set. Can’t even imagine having to drive in an unfamiliar city at the crack of dawn. Those early morning call times are no joke, and the days get long.
Could someone please explain to me why they weren’t able to provide the same for principal talent on a much larger production?
Edit: just looked it up and the production had a $100 million budget.
But Oprah is out here wearing purple to everythang and promoting the heck out of the film. If she’s invested in it making money (cause that’s what the promotion is about), she should also be invested in how it got made. Bad look for her.
It’s a bad look for WB who were too cheap to provide the basics. Oprah has been involved since the movie and the play. She is visible because she is trying to get people to see the movie and she knows how important it is to be out there with the cast. If she stayed home you would yell at her too.
This is absolutely wrong. Knowing how film productions work, we definitely know the broad strokes of the hierarchy of accountability.
Oprah’s production company, Harpo, produced the stage musical. After that success, they actively packaged a movie version to sell to a studio, that studio ended up being WB. I have to look up when Quincy Jones’ production company and Scott Sanders Productions got involved. But Oprah is THE driving creative producer behind The Color Purple Musical. No person involved in anyone of her productions let alone an OSCAR NOMINATED ACTRESS should have to advocate for basic necessities, so basic they are a given even on low-budget productions. She’s also a billionaire with a production company. What does a production company do? Spend money by buying scripts, ideas, completed films. What does Oprah have? Billions of dollars. If WB was being stingy, then Harpo should put up more money.
Do not forget: Oprah was actively part of blacklisting Monique after she refused to do unpaid promotional work for Precious. We have to see how she punishes Taraji for speaking out and speaking the truth.
Unlike The Color Purple, Oprah became involved after production wrapped on Precious, but there’s a pattern emerging. From her treatment of Monique and the women-dominated cast of The Color Purple, it’s obvious Oprah thinks black actresses should be grateful to get pennies to work on not only her films, but any film.
Literally none of that has to do with her film producing credit. Financing a stage play is NOT the same as producing a film. A lot of y’all on this thread literally have no idea how any of this works and it shows.
Signed,
Someone who spent a decade in the industry.
@ANNA @THATSNOTOK Wtf are y’all talking about? Drivers for your lead actors on a film of this budget is ABSOLUTELY STANDARD. Warner Brothers also did Barbie. Margot and Ryan were not driving themselves to set! Stop it.
Also, I’m gonna take a wild stab that Barbie had food and trailers during their rehearsals!
WB mistreated black actors because they can!!!
Actors are usually responsible for driving themselves to set. I think Taraji is name-checking Atlanta because it’s so busy and traffic can be a nightmare. As far as food at rehearsals is concerned…they’re not in production so it’s not mandated. It’s the right thing to do, but it’s not a requirement. I think her asking for all of these things is just, and yes, producers skimp and scrape and hide the money when it comes to Black entertainment, and pay disparity is very real, despite working on hit movies or shows. Just saying all this to say, no one should be coming for Oprah for this. She heard her actor and responded quickly. The studio is where all ire should be directed. And the line producer.
That’s…not accurate. It’s depends on the budget and size of the film but MOST actors on large productions have drivers. And it’s exactly for the reasons she mentioned. It’s a liability to have them drive themselves.Having a driver ensures that they will be on time on set.
Agreed. It’s a liability for actors to drive themselves. Especially with the late hours they keep. I recall that Riverdale actor, KJ Apa was driving himself home from a late night shoot and fell asleep at the wheel and drove into a pole. It was only after that accident they gave the cast drivers.
Even most actors on tv shows have drivers. It’s very much an insurance and liability issue. And production WANTS them to have drivers so that they don’t miss precious filming time.
It seems like a very bougie complaint. But. When you work on productions that have a white cast and then on one with a predominantly black cast and the differences in accommodations – which translates to respect for the individual actors and singers – even on the most basic level – are this extreme, and it’s been a chronic ongoing issue during your whole career with it pointing to one glaring aspect – that black actors are treated with much less respect than their white peers – it’s not a bougie complaint.
It’s talking to the actions of the whole industry and their treatment of black actors and the “black” film market as opposed to simply the film market.
No one ever says – nope, this film won’t fly in Asia because it’s got an all white cast.
You know Asia. The continent with BILLIONS of people who aren’t white and who SPEND at the box office.
Nope. Because in their minds the default human is white. And THATS why stuff like this continues and should be called out every single time.
Calling out the treatment disparity or the pay disparity should NOT be a black persons job. The already marginalized and vulnerable should not be having to make noise to be heard when a white man can step up and the room goes silent in ANTICIPATION that he might say something.
A white man needs to champion this. Use your dang privilege for good. Don’t make a black woman – usually THE most vulnerable person in the room – do the heavy lifting. At the very least – amplify her voice
One of the marvel white dudes should have a team of attorneys etc on deck and just paid to negotiate higher wages for actors of color. It doesn’t have to make news but if enough people did this …. Can you imagine? Oh shit. They have captain americas legal group with them. HOW DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING. ok we are gonna need to pay them more. Because if we refuse another black actor with the SAME GROUP OF LAWYERS is gonna show up and demand the same pay.
BECAUSE THATS HOW YOU BE AN ALLY.
Had friends work on the color purple set and was also asked but declined. Bc the drive was so far. I live north and the outdoor shots were so far that I declined. Have also worked a lot of shows and films in atlanta. It is spread out. Talent was likely put up in atlanta proper but the outdoor scenes were shot further south of atlanta. Can’t remember exactly where but anywhere bw a 30m drive to an hour at least from the city. Talent is usually given a driver to pick them up and drop them off. Asking them to drive themselves was the production being cheap and effed up. There was a tales of the walking dead show I worked on and all the actors were picked up by drivers from the hotel. No reason why the color purple actors shouldn’t get the same treatment.
Actors have drivers so that the production has a heads up if they are running late. Knowing at 7:30 that X won’t be there at 9 is a big difference to an actor not being there at 9 with no idea of where they are. Pays for itself. Crew can work on something else, schedule can be shifted.
No food for rehearsals is bad. I can understand no dressing rooms, though. Totally depends on where the rehearsals are being held. Also if the actors need to change clothes or makeup. Rehearsals are usually in street clothes and makeup, so actors would show up ready to work. But I sure as hell wouldn’t argue with Taraji, though.
Taraji said a similar thing about Benjamin Button which is a travesty because she was the best thing about that movie. Pay this woman!
She truly was the best thing in that movie, and I saw that as a fan of Cate Blanchett as an actor. Taraji has great screen presence and talent, it’s appalling she still has to fight so hard for basic things and equal pay.
I’m sure Oprah did what she could when she was made aware of the issues, but Taraji only called her when there was already a problem, so to me the question is why weren’t these extremely basic needs planned for, especially if it’s considered standard for this level of production? (We know why.) That’s the original sin here, and it’s shameful to me that a production with Oprah’s name attached didn’t have “treat actors like humans, even though they’re Black!” as step 1. And yes, even though Oprah is not the sole person responsible for this movie, she’s a producer, she’s been front and center on the red carpet etc. AND on top of that she’s a powerful billionaire who is absolutely not new to Hollywood and the way things are done. So yes, it is “short-sighted” at best that Oprah is still working with partners who don’t even care to give Black actors an Uber rebate. Good for Taraji for calling this out because everyone has to do better.
Yes. Oprah is very much the face of this project. I surely wouldn’t be a “hands off” producer in her position. They shouldn’t have had to reach out to her to fix it, it should have been taken care of from the start. What an embarrassment.
Shouldn’t all of that have been negotiated by her agent? That seems to be her biggest problem. I thought all of that was supposed to be worked out before they ever step foot wherever their filming.
Those are basic things that are generally provided by studios. It’s a standard. She shouldn’t have to negotiate it.
She’s a truth teller. Keep speaking out TH. Oprah, get better informed and oh yall know Oprah is pissed. Too bad.
She should be pissed. Because she’s not Warner Bros.
TH called out the production, not necessarily Oprah. And she did say that Oprah was responsive. Oprah should be pissed, but not at TH. She should be pissed that a predominantly Black cast was treated this way by a major studio.
I get that everyone hates Oprah these days, but it’s wild to me she is being blamed for this. And it’s interesting that Taraji is fed up enough that she is tanking the good publicity of a movie she is in discussing this. I’m not saying she is wrong, but I am not an opening night movie goer, I was planning to see this next week in the country I live in, and I am now seriously up in the air about supporting the movie.
“Like, WTF was Oprah doing?”
None of the things Taraji spoke about were Oprah’s responsibility. That’s on the studio, not her.
The film has three more male producers, but for some reason I’ve seen so many people blame Oprah, when Taraji herself said that she was the one who helped them get adequate treatment.
It sounds like Oprah’s saying she wasn’t responsible for organising those things.
Because she wasn’t.
Just want to clarify that the current movie is not a musical remake of the book, but a remake/adaptation of the musical which is based on the book. Essentially this current iteration is two degrees of separation from the book, so the ways in which it is not aligned with the book have to be looked at from that perspective.
I wouldn’t recommend not watching the movie. Taraji is really good in it (and should be nominated in my opinion) and it is a good re-imagining of the source material. From director to choreographer to talent, all Black, they did that. I’m glad she spoke up and said what had to be said, advocating for others and making the point that Black talent should not be treated less than – and she wasn’t just talking about TCP on that. She’s a truth teller but I don’t think her intention was to have people not show up for the film she is promoting. Every interview I’ve seen she’s also very happy with the work they produced but she’s also not playing the game of niceties while suffering (because she’s reached the point where, per Zora Neale Hurston, “If you are silent about your pain, they’ll kill you and say you enjoyed it.”)
As so many above have stated, Taraji was just asking for what most television shows and films provide as a matter of course. Not having it available on a union production is unacceptable – especially on location.
Given that the actors were not provided with the bare minimum, it makes me wonder how the rest of the crew was treated. And did Warner Brothers continue to cut corners by having underpaid PAs drive the actors to and from set instead of actual Transportation Drivers? Where was Craft Services? Catering? If this is how they treated above the line talent, it must have been dreadful for below the line crew.
That is just shocking. She, and many others in the cast, are established stars. WTH is wrong with the producers to treat them like that?!?
WB spent $90 million making this film, and they couldn’t provide food during rehearsals or drivers to assure everyone got to and from set safely??? This is insane.
It shouldn’t take calling Oprah to make things happen, and Taraji should have been able to concentrate on her work, not having to call and fight for these basic things.
I’m glad Oprah did get things corrected, but it never should have come to that. I was thinking she could have sent an employee to be an advocate all day on set, but I bet the studio wouldn’t have listened to them.
This just proves that a lot of times big name “producers” of movies are just “producers by name”. How often did Oprah visit the set? I doubt not often, and that’s why she didn’t know about all the complaints. Good for Taraji for speaking up. However, you know this is going to hurt her career. They will black list an actress for anything, especially a Black actress, regardless of talent. I hope this isn’t the case for her.
I’m surprised that this entire comment section is not dragging Oprah to filth. If a phone call from Oprah got Taraji and the cast basic production necessities, then a phone call from Oprah could get Taraji and the cast basic production necessities.
Whatever accounting studios and large production companies do to avoid paying taxes is a different issue, but film production budgets are meticulously itemized most definitely at this cost (under 100M) and definitely with all this beautiful Black talent (racism). The budgets are reviewed, negotiated, approved, and then sometimes like in this case re-negotiated and approved again between the production company/ies and studio if a studio is involved at pre-production. In this case it was.
Harpo Productions agreed to a budget that did not include drivers for their cast, did not include trailers and food during rehearsals FOR A MUSICAL. Harpo knew the budget. The company got a copy of the spreadsheet. It’s literally an itemized spreadsheet. There’s a job for just producing these spreadsheets, usually called line producer. The reason why Oprah could call and demand changes to how money was allocated or more money (I don’t know what WB did to cover the costs) and get those changes means that her production company Harpo always had influence on the budget.
I understand not wanting scapegoat a Black woman for a larger systemic issue, but her company is part of the larger systemic issue.
Rich people gonna rich, I guess.
I respect Oprah but she is in it for the profit like everyone else. She didn’t care enough or maybe she thought someone else would cover those basic needs. She isn’t a new producer. She’s been down this road before. Going over the location catering, set design, etc she would have seen drivers security and catering wasn’t included. Id wager, playing devils advocate, that they thought since the majority of the core cast were black, they were in Atlanta, they would be fine. Every show/movie that has filmed in a southern town, with a white cast were given drivers that they didn’t have to fight for and decent food.
Oprah once talked about signing every check of people that worked for her, or her company. Im sure she saw the production cost, etc. rather she assumed it would be taken care of via the studio or not she saw it. T was right to call her put her on spot, closed mouths don’t get fed.
I’m not attacking O but I’m not giving her a pass either
@Dora “someone else would cover those basic needs” would be the major Hollywood studio that was producing and financing the film. Because that’s THEIR Job – not an individual producer’s. Warner Bros. is a massive studio with billions of dollars it is LITERALLY their job to oversee those things and make sure those needs are met. Not someone with a “producer in name only” credit
Studios don’t produce films. They make them and distribute them. That’s why you don’t see a Produced by Warner Brothers credit on a film.
As a producer, Oprah was fully aware of the budget for The Color Purple, as was everyone who cares about movie development, and this includes the public.
Did she know about the issues Taraji raised? Maybe not, but given her long history of acting in and producing TV & film projects, I would think accommodations for cast and crew would be an area that she’d have made a priority.
As others have noted, Oprah has described The Color Purple as one of her life’s passions. She said in a Variety interview that Fantasia’s performance was a “triumph in action”. I agree and hope that all who want to see the movie won’t let this issue dissuade them from going.
Oprah built her reputation on INTENSE attention to detail…yet once she reached billionaire status…it’s looking shoddy AF ..between what went down with the movie “Precious” the HORROR of what happened at that Girls academy she ran in Africa…and now this? This is a woman who said she HAD to sign off on ANY & EVERYTHING that had HER name associated to it…even if it was a check for a dollar….so I don’t buy NONE OF THIS! This is a multimillion $$ film with 2 of the BIGGEST entertainment names in the 🌎 as Producers.. and those Actors were getting the level of production logistics you get from a cable access channel in a mid-size city?!?! I provided my SALES REPS (not big ballers either) better amenities when I booked them out of town…This WHOLE THANG is deplorable & triggering & I have decided NOT to watch😡
I never forgot this clip. Tom Holland talking about how he had a studio appointed driver……..to an AUDITION!!!
And again later to set. Just to point out the difference between how white actors are treated vs black.
Also, trust the studio flew him in for those auditions.
https://youtu.be/5gMC7jnjEUc?si=1bGlADu8suDAJdKC
When people ask how a movie can cost 250 million dollars to make, direct them to this video. Marvel is on an entirely different playing field and I can assure you that Angela Basset never had to ask for anything.
Loved Taraji in Benjamin Button and Hidden Figures so much!