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Tag: Blitz Bazawule

  • Video: ‘The Color Purple’ | Anatomy of a Scene

    Video: ‘The Color Purple’ | Anatomy of a Scene

    “My name is Blitz Bazawule. And I’m the director of ‘The Color Purple.’” [SNAPPING] “So, this scene is where Shug Avery, played by the incredible Taraji P. Henson, performs at the juke joint for the very first time. Her character’s enigmatic. We’ve been hearing about her throughout. And we haven’t seen her perform yet. And so, Dan Laustsen my DP, and I, knew that this was a moment that would have to register in the audience’s mind as a moment of coming out, of sorts. My production designer, Paul Austerberry also really suggested that we do this practically and not on stage. And so, we found a swamp that we had to drain. It takes two months to drain out and two months to fill back up. But we drained it out to build the actual juke joint. And so, what you’re seeing is Shug actually performing in a juke joint on location. And what was special about this was, also, it gave my choreographer, the incredible Fatima Robinson, the opportunity to really shine. And it took us about two weeks of rehearsals to figure out just the blocking for this. A lot was going to be going on. A lot of storytelling was going to be happening. And a lot of bodies were going to be moving in this space.” “(SINGING) Push the button.” “(SINGING) Push the button.” “(SINGING) Push the button.” “It was very important that the blocking was right. It was also very important that we gave Taraji an opportunity to shine in this moment. She actually sung the song herself. She’s not dubbed. This is actually her voice. She took vocal lessons to make sure she got this one right. And it was incredible because it was all believable for her in the space, performing this song in real time. This is where it gets special, when the lights go out. And we find ourselves in darkness. Now, for me, this is a moment that also allows the dance break to be a special moment. The song is a bit long. So, we knew that we didn’t want the audiences just sitting through a redundant setup. So, I remember coming in to set one day much earlier. And the lights were — the environmental lights were on. And the blue light started to bleed through. I said to myself, I think that’s it. If we can go from light to darkness this way. I think we could have something special.” “Ooh, it ain’t over yet, y’all.” “Now, ladies.” “What?” “I need you to work a little harder, O.K.?” “The other thing that was special about this moment is the ending, when we find out that Shug Avery has actually chosen Celie and not Mister. So, there was a lot of storytelling. Even though it’s a big dance number, there’s still a lot of storytelling going on. So, by the time we find out that she’s kind of made this choice, it’s too late for Mister. Mister has been waiting. He’s spent all this time, expecting that Shug Avery would come to him at the end of this performance. And he would be the beneficiary of all of this amazingness that’s happened. And somehow, she kind of just sneaks past him and goes to Celie. And that’s a big emotional and romantic moment in this film. And I think that it was really special. And I love the look on Colman’s face when the realization hits him. It’s like, wow, all this for nothing.” [CHEERS]

    Mekado Murphy

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  • Taraji P. Henson Says ‘The Color Purple’ Artisans Helped Her Ooze Empowerment as Shug Avery: ‘The Sexiest I’ve Ever Felt in Any Role’

    Taraji P. Henson Says ‘The Color Purple’ Artisans Helped Her Ooze Empowerment as Shug Avery: ‘The Sexiest I’ve Ever Felt in Any Role’

    Director Blitz Bazawule had a clear vision of what he wanted Shug Avery (Taraji P. Henson) to represent in “The Color Purple.” She was a bold, sexy, beautiful and extraordinary woman, but she was also loving and nurturing to Celie (Fantasia Barrino) and Sophia (Danielle Brooks). “Those were her sisters and there was a bond there,” Tym Wallace, the film’s makeup and hair department artist explains.

    In bringing his version of Alice Walker’s classic novel to the big screen, Bazawule put together a series of storyboard sketches he had laid out — a grand musical production with vivid color, majestic cinematography and show-stopping musical numbers. It wouldn’t just help him pitch the idea to producers Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey that he was the right man to take on this giant task, it would help his artisans in bringing Shug to life and have her embody sexiness and ooze empowerment.

    Bazawule began by creating the mythos of Shug.

    Colman Domingo’s Mister keeps a signed photo of her by his bedside table. Bazawule points out, “It really begins with lore. I love when she’s whispered about: Who is she? What is she? So, when we finally see her in that photograph, I wanted to make sure she was meeting that myth and legend with this elegance and the fan.”


    Bazawule explains as cinematographer Dan Laustsen pushes into that photograph, “It’s the first time we see opulence. The film is rooted in the rural environment before that push. Environmentally, it demonstrates there’s a world on the other side of the film In the hopes that we’ll get there one day, and the only person who can take audiences there is Shug.”

    Wallace worked on Henson’s hair journey.

    While the rest of the characters had a similar look visually, he wanted audiences to see that Shug was not an average person and there was something special about her. Says Wallace, “When Shug is first introduced, it’s the early 1920s. She had a textured, deep side part finger wave tousled bob. That was her signature look throughout.”

    Costume designer Francine Jamison-Tanchuck used gloves and jewelry to show Shug’s empowerment. This woman came from that town and broke away from it. Those accessories strengthened her personality. As with the other artisans, Jamison-Tanchuck knew the juke joint moment needed to be bigger than life. “Nothing says that more than red.” The outfit nodded to Aggie Guerard Rodgers’s 1985 designs from the original film, but Jamison-Tanchuck also looked at what performers were wearing in 1918 and the early 1920s. She added beads rather than fringe to add weight to the dress.

    Later when Shug and Celie are walking in the field talking about the color purple, Jamison-Tanchuck says, “I wanted her to have this beautiful Sherbert orange chiffon dress. We wanted to have a style for Taraji that was more fitting into her personality without dismissing the periods.” She adds, “Research showed that performers in that era had skintight outfits, so it wasn’t unheard of. I wanted that for Shug because she was all about being sexy and showing her womanness and strength.”

    Adds Henson, “That’s the sexiest I’ve ever felt in any role that I’ve ever played. I felt sexy and regal because that’s who Shug was.”

    Jazztangcay

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