The Hollywood Reporter's Nekesa Mumbi Moody sat down with Producer Oprah Winfrey and cast Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks and Fantasia Barrino to discuss 'The Color Purple' in a THR Q&A powered by Vision Media.
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00:00 I started out doing this movie, I did it for $35,000.
00:03 My lawyer said I can get you 50.
00:05 I said, "Please don't, I'd do it for nothing."
00:08 $35,000, so happy just to be on set every day.
00:11 Name wasn't on the poster, and now I'm producing it.
00:16 40 years later, with Steven Spielberg.
00:19 (audience applauding)
00:22 (upbeat music)
00:24 We have to say congratulations
00:28 'cause we have two Golden Globe nominees in the house.
00:32 (audience cheering)
00:35 I wanna ask both of you what it meant
00:40 to hear your names being called this morning.
00:43 Oh man, I don't even know where to start.
00:45 I'll say to hear my name called today,
00:49 I just felt like the end of the story,
00:55 we sing amen, which means it is well.
01:00 That is how I felt, it is well.
01:03 And so I was very at peace with it
01:05 because I had worked a long time to validate myself
01:11 instead of worry about the validation from other people.
01:15 And it wasn't until I voice memoed my parents
01:19 and I actually said, "Hey, I know you might not understand
01:23 "what's going on," but I got nominated for a Golden Globe.
01:28 That coming out of my mouth.
01:31 (audience laughing)
01:32 I was a puddle of tears.
01:34 That's when it hit me.
01:36 So yeah, and then Miss O left me a voice memo
01:39 and the flood came in, everybody leaving voice memos.
01:42 That's my story this morning, very peaceful.
01:45 And then floodgates opened.
01:48 Oh my Lord.
01:52 So yesterday we sat in the airport
01:55 for like 13 hours trying to get here.
01:58 So we finally make it to the room, get some sleep.
02:01 Seven o'clock this morning, I called my king
02:05 and he and my mom were screaming,
02:08 but I was still half asleep.
02:11 So I was thinking, "Lord, what has happened?"
02:16 He says, "Babe, congratulations."
02:18 I'm thinking, "On what?"
02:21 I hung up 'cause I had to make sure I wasn't dreaming.
02:24 I didn't get myself together.
02:27 I called back, I said, "King, you have to calm down
02:29 "and tell me what you're talking about."
02:31 He said, "You got nominated for a Golden Globe."
02:35 And here was my reaction.
02:37 (laughing)
02:39 My mama said, "You gotta stop crying."
02:45 I said, "No, I don't."
02:47 No, I don't 'cause I had asked,
02:51 I've been crying all day so my eyes hurt.
02:53 But I did, I sat there and I said, "What if?"
02:58 It's been a long time coming so it feels good.
03:03 (audience applauding)
03:06 - There was a premiere the other day
03:12 and I think many of us saw this beautiful moment
03:15 with you and Paula Abdul embracing on the carpet.
03:18 And there's a clip, then people have played the clip
03:21 of Paula Abdul saying to you when you were a contestant
03:24 on American Idol, "I see great things for you.
03:27 "I see movies, I see all this."
03:29 And to see that happen, talk about that full circle.
03:33 - A lot of times we want God to do it
03:36 when we want God to do it.
03:38 They should sing this song in church called
03:41 He May Not Come When You Want Him.
03:43 We done write it down. - Always on time.
03:44 Always on time.
03:45 - We was like, "Wait, right on time.
03:47 "I want him to come now."
03:49 - I'm full today because the book of Job
03:56 is one of my favorite books.
03:58 Job lost everything.
04:02 He was tried time after time after time.
04:06 But he never gave up on God.
04:08 And I didn't either.
04:10 I knew God had my back.
04:11 I didn't know where I was going or how I was gonna do it.
04:14 Matter of fact, I kinda let all that go
04:16 and was like, "Lord, just use me.
04:17 "Just give me the mic, let me open my mouth and sing.
04:20 "Whatever you want me to do, I'm gonna do it."
04:22 So when they came to me about the movie,
04:24 I didn't know this was...
04:26 - I get it, I get it.
04:33 - You're deserving, sis.
04:35 - It's beautiful. - So deserving.
04:36 - It's all we been doing, y'all.
04:39 (audience laughing)
04:42 - Every, where we go? - Every day.
04:44 Every Q&A.
04:45 - Every where. - Every screening.
04:47 - Every time.
04:48 It turns into a church service.
04:50 - We not gonna do this tomorrow.
04:51 Okay? - Okay.
04:52 - CBS morning, we not doing this tomorrow.
04:53 - CBS morning, we on the Gayle King morning thing.
04:56 (audience laughing)
04:57 We not gonna start crying on the CBS in the morning.
05:01 Everywhere.
05:02 - Every day.
05:03 - I think this moment speaks to what,
05:05 I think you told me, Taraji,
05:07 and all of you have told me about,
05:09 you talked about how this project was anointed.
05:11 Oprah, you talked about how no one felt like this was,
05:15 they were bigger than this project.
05:16 Talk about what this project has meant
05:19 and the divine inspiration of it all.
05:22 - It's a divine thing
05:24 because when Alice Walker sat down to write it
05:27 and invoked her ancestors in the writing of it,
05:31 they were all present.
05:32 There's a wonderful line that I love to share
05:35 that Maya Angelou taught me in her poem to our grandmother.
05:39 She says, "I come as one, but I stand as 10,000."
05:45 And so this movie and all of the characters,
05:50 Celie and Suge and Sophia, Mister,
05:53 representing the ancestry and relatives of Alice Walker
05:58 also represent the 10,000.
06:02 And so what you feel when you read the book,
06:05 when you see the original,
06:07 and also what is carried now for 40 years later
06:12 as an offering to all of you, that's what you're feeling.
06:17 You're feeling the spirit of the 10,000.
06:20 And so it is divinely touched, it is anointed.
06:24 I have known it since the very first day I read the book
06:28 and it comes with its own spiritual power.
06:31 And those of us who have been a part of it
06:33 understood that from the beginning of undertaking
06:37 these roles that they now do 40 years after I did in 1985.
06:42 Everybody who comes to it knows
06:43 that the thing is bigger than you
06:45 and you are carrying that thing forward.
06:48 And so it's, as Fantasia has often said
06:53 and could speak to better than I,
06:54 that there's a healing involved in the process.
06:58 The same thing that happened with Celie,
07:00 that energy is offered to the audience to receive it.
07:05 So I feel blessed that I am now about to turn 70
07:09 and I was 31 when I did that movie.
07:12 - You're good, baby, you're good.
07:14 - Yes, and,
07:14 (audience applauding)
07:17 31 and as I've shared with you, never wanted anything more.
07:22 And that it still holds the same power and energy
07:26 with even a greater velocity to it in 2023 and 24
07:31 than it had in 1985.
07:33 'Cause we had a lot of resistance to it in 1985.
07:37 And so I feel blessed to be able to pass the baton,
07:41 blessed to be able to create the platform,
07:43 blessed to be able to support these women
07:45 in all the ways that I can.
07:48 - It's beautiful.
07:49 - Thank you.
07:50 - Yeah.
07:51 (audience applauding)
07:52 Taraji, you also, when I spoke to you,
07:55 you talked about, again, being anointed,
07:57 but also being inspired to go through the audition,
08:02 do the singing and do all the stuff
08:05 that you weren't sure you wanted to do.
08:07 Can you talk a little bit about that?
08:09 - When Queen O says this project is anointed,
08:16 I need you to understand how anointed.
08:18 Because I had no idea there was a "Color Purple" remake
08:23 or anything, I just, I'm at home, it's the pandemic,
08:27 and I get a call from my manager and he's like,
08:30 "Oh, you're being tapped for Suge."
08:31 And I'm like, "Suge what?"
08:33 And he's like, "Suge Avery."
08:34 And he's like, "They're doing a remake of 'Color Purple.'"
08:37 I'm like, "Why?
08:38 "We ran out of stories to tell?
08:40 "Oh my God."
08:40 (audience laughing)
08:43 I was tapped to play her on Broadway
08:47 and I turned it down then because I was like,
08:49 "I can't sing at that capacity, eight shows a week,
08:52 "my voice will blow."
08:54 And so I turned it down, ran from Suge.
08:56 But the anointings came in, Suge came back and got me.
08:59 She said, "Ot, ot, mm-mm, not so fast."
09:03 Because literally, Blitz handpicked me.
09:06 And I was like, "Me?
09:09 "Like, huh?"
09:12 And so when someone pours into you
09:15 and they see something in you, you wanna make them proud.
09:18 And so, sure enough, I was his choice,
09:22 but oftentimes in the industry,
09:23 you are the director's choice,
09:24 but then you gotta prove it to the studio.
09:26 And I understand, there was nothing out there
09:28 of me singing like this, nothing.
09:30 You know, hard out here for a pimp, anybody can do.
09:32 (audience laughing)
09:34 That ain't even hard for a pimp.
09:36 (audience laughing)
09:39 So I trained in musical theater,
09:46 so it was something that I could do,
09:49 but what touches me deep, deep, deep down in my spirit
09:52 is that I know this is bigger than me
09:53 because I lost my father three weeks before I sang
09:57 "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp" at the Oscars.
09:59 And his dying words was,
10:01 "You're gonna be one of the greatest actresses alive,
10:04 "but wait until the world hears you sing."
10:06 And I just was like, "Eh, whatever."
10:08 So I know this is him 'cause I wasn't looking for this.
10:11 It's okay.
10:14 (audience applauding)
10:15 Thank you, it's okay.
10:16 I'm gonna make y'all laugh now.
10:20 So when they said I had to audition, I had to check my ego.
10:24 'Cause I'm like, "I'm Academy Award nominee,
10:25 "I don't audition."
10:26 (audience laughing)
10:28 But Blitz was like, "Taraji, please, just,
10:30 "please, just go with me."
10:33 And it was him speaking into me,
10:36 and I said, "I'm gonna go in here
10:38 "and I'm gonna make this undeniable."
10:41 I found a dress, I got me some character shoes,
10:43 I had a dress, it was very Suge-like.
10:46 I had braids in my hair, I pinned my hair up,
10:49 I put my baby's breath in my hair,
10:51 I had a faux fur on, I kicked that door in,
10:56 Sophie style.
10:57 He was like, "You need to rehearse."
10:59 I said, "No, it's in this key, let's go."
11:01 And within 20 minutes, it was a wrap.
11:03 (audience laughing)
11:06 I was like, "They will never second guess me again."
11:08 (laughing)
11:11 So, you know, and then after that I got the role,
11:18 and then I'm like, "Well, who's playing Celie,
11:20 "and who's playing?"
11:22 And the names he said, I was like,
11:24 "Oh my God, I can't wait to go meet them.
11:27 "This is gonna be so incredible."
11:29 And when I get to set, I'm unsure of my singing,
11:33 and this one's like, "Girl, you got it."
11:35 (audience laughing)
11:38 - You good, you ain't done an impression of me yet.
11:44 - No, she was on set like, "Is that her?
11:46 "That's her really singing?"
11:47 (audience laughing)
11:50 But that sisterhood and that love that you see
11:57 and feel on that screen,
11:58 that's because that's what you get.
12:00 It's very real, and we held each other up.
12:04 We inspired each other.
12:05 - Still doing it.
12:07 - Like, you know, this is what it's about,
12:10 and like black women, seriously.
12:14 (audience applauding)
12:14 No, we gotta stick together.
12:17 That's where the power is.
12:20 I'll never tear a sister down on no platform in public.
12:24 I'ma always live sister.
12:25 Y'all see how I move in this industry.
12:27 It's enough room for everybody,
12:29 and the beauty of this is that we coming at you
12:31 in all shapes, sizes, and colors,
12:34 with all different stories and backgrounds.
12:36 That's how diverse we are,
12:38 and that's what makes this feel so good,
12:41 because when I got to Hollywood, it was one at a time.
12:44 So I am so grateful to have been fighting so hard
12:47 and get to sit back and watch you guys for your first film,
12:52 and y'all racking up awards like Jesus.
12:56 I'm so proud.
12:58 I'm so frickin' proud.
13:01 (audience applauding)
13:03 - Yep.
13:03 I just asked you, Fantasia and Danielle,
13:08 what was it like to have this woman be your mentor on set?
13:11 - Really?
13:12 Huh.
13:15 - Don't make me cry.
13:16 - Okay, I'ma try not to.
13:17 Okay.
13:18 - Just be funny.
13:19 - Okay, okay.
13:20 (laughing)
13:23 Honestly, I've always been a fan,
13:26 and I always tell her she's my real-life walking Oscar.
13:29 Into the community, we don't really look at
13:34 what you hold in your hand, like papers and metal.
13:38 We watch the movies, and we know how it makes us feel
13:41 when we're done watching.
13:43 So I was very inspired by her before I even met her.
13:48 So I was very nervous.
13:50 I never forget.
13:52 When you came in the room,
13:53 I had just came out the bathroom.
13:55 Uh-huh, you and Santa came in.
13:58 And you had on a bad pair of frames, your little ones,
14:02 and she came in like this.
14:04 (imitating car engine)
14:07 And I said, "Oh, God, Taraji's in the building."
14:10 But I didn't know.
14:13 I also, coming from the industry I've met,
14:16 you don't know what you're gonna get.
14:18 Soon as I walk in, we just start talking.
14:21 "What's your sign?"
14:22 I said, "McCann's."
14:23 "Oh, I love Cannes."
14:24 I'm a very good liar.
14:25 (audience laughing)
14:27 "I got family in North Carolina."
14:29 I mean, we just started talking,
14:31 and she guided me through.
14:33 There were times that some things that she would say,
14:35 I would be like, "Okay, I need to buckle up
14:37 "and hear what she gotta say."
14:39 Everything, it don't come smooth, come nice, come easy,
14:42 but that's like a grandmother, that's like a mother,
14:44 that's like an auntie telling you, like,
14:46 "Mm-mm, no, you don't need to do that.
14:48 "You need to do this, this, this, that, and the third."
14:50 And I just ate from the table.
14:52 I just ate from the table.
14:54 She kept me up on set.
14:56 There was a lot of scenes for me
14:57 that were hard, heavy, and dark.
15:01 But as soon as we were done,
15:02 she came through doing something funny.
15:05 She was the first one to teach me
15:07 how to leave the character on set.
15:09 That's why I didn't enjoy it on Broadway.
15:11 I think we used to talk about that.
15:13 I used to be like, "How do I let Celie go?"
15:15 She went home with me, I woke up with her.
15:19 I wanted her to go somewhere else.
15:21 She taught me, you go in and you come out.
15:27 And so I thank you for that.
15:30 I thank you, the text messages that you sent me,
15:32 the messages you sent me today, very, very uplifting.
15:36 Also telling me, "Enjoy this ride."
15:38 I mean, what you see is what you get, and I love that.
15:43 (audience applauds)
15:46 (Celie laughs)
15:47 We kiss on set, we kiss off set.
15:49 (audience laughs)
15:52 - Taranje.
15:53 Taranje, as Blitz, our director, says.
15:58 I mean, I have been watching her from the beginning.
16:02 And to just have someone just be a guide for us,
16:10 be our voice box.
16:13 I remember when we first came in
16:15 and we were doing rehearsal,
16:17 and they put us all in the same space.
16:19 Like we didn't have our own dressing rooms at the time,
16:22 and they did not give us, sorry, Miss O,
16:25 we didn't have no food.
16:26 - She had no idea.
16:27 - She didn't know what was going on.
16:28 - She had no idea, she had no idea.
16:30 - I heard about it.
16:31 - And you corrected it for us.
16:33 - I called you, didn't I call you?
16:35 - Yes, and I was like, "Miss O, we gotta fix this."
16:38 (audience laughs)
16:39 And she said, "Say less."
16:40 And was it not fixed?
16:41 - And that's what I appreciated, though.
16:43 You are our voice, because a lot of times,
16:46 yes, I've done a lot of TV, I've done a lot of films,
16:49 specifically independent films,
16:51 but this is my first studio film.
16:53 So sometimes you do come in just saying,
16:55 "Okay, well, I'm gonna just take whatever they give me.
16:57 "I'm just happy to be here."
16:59 But you spoke up for us, and you showed me how to do that.
17:03 But what I've really enjoyed is your sisterhood is authentic
17:08 and it's real.
17:10 It's not this fake ha-ha, hoo-hoo stuff you just say
17:15 to be PC, and I appreciate that.
17:18 So just for it to happen again in this way,
17:21 to have bonded with you ladies, y'all are with me,
17:25 and I'm with you all forever.
17:26 - Forever, you suck. - Forever, ever.
17:28 Forever, ever.
17:29 - Forever, ever.
17:31 - Oprah, when you were on set,
17:33 what was that like being there as a producer
17:36 some almost 40 years after you'd made your debut?
17:40 - It is, you know, in the movie,
17:44 at the end of the movie, they sing,
17:45 "Look what God has done, look what God has done."
17:48 I tell you, I didn't even dream this dream.
17:52 And I often say God can dream a bigger dream
17:54 than you can dream for yourself.
17:55 That's what "The Color Purple" taught me in 1985.
17:59 But the idea of coming, first of all,
18:03 that Scott Sanders believed
18:06 that you could turn this into a musical.
18:08 When I first heard that he was gonna do that,
18:10 I was like, "What's Celia gonna be doing, singing?"
18:12 (audience laughing)
18:14 Sweeping the floor.
18:15 (audience laughing)
18:18 As it turns out, Scott, she was singing
18:20 and sweeping the floor.
18:21 I didn't see it, he had the vision to see it twice
18:25 on Broadway.
18:27 So, to, you know, the word full circle is used a lot.
18:32 Y'all, when I was in "The Color Purple" in 1985,
18:37 the fight scene, you know this, Danielle,
18:40 the fight scene where she hits the mayor in town.
18:43 I did that fight scene, I took off the coat,
18:46 and I went to Steven Spielberg and said,
18:49 "I needed permission to be off for the next two days
18:53 because I was going to sign the contract
18:55 to do the Oprah Winfrey show."
18:58 And he said, "What is that?"
19:02 And I said, "Well, it's a talk show."
19:05 And he said, "Is it radio or what is it?"
19:07 I said, "No, it's gonna be TV."
19:09 And it's up against Phil Donahue
19:11 and people say I'm gonna be famous.
19:14 Maybe you wanna put my name on the poster
19:16 'cause my name wasn't on the poster.
19:19 My name wasn't on the poster."
19:21 And he said, "There's no way your name
19:23 can go on the poster.
19:24 You have a favorite nation's contract
19:25 and you needed to work that out with your lawyer."
19:27 So, my name wasn't on the poster and that was,
19:30 I was 31 and I think for my 42nd birthday,
19:33 Quincy Jones had a birthday party for me
19:36 and he had a poster made with my name on the poster.
19:39 - Absolutely.
19:40 - So, my point is I started out doing this movie.
19:43 I did it for $35,000.
19:45 My lawyer said, "I can get you 50."
19:47 I said, "Please don't.
19:48 I'd do it for nothing."
19:50 $35,000, so happy just to be on set every day.
19:53 Name wasn't on the poster and now I'm producing it.
19:57 40 years later with Steven Spielberg.
20:02 (audience applauding)
20:04 Look what God has done.
20:07 It was pretty amazing.
20:08 And I wanted to be there to specifically pass the baton
20:13 on the iconic scene that Sophia does
20:17 of "You told Harpo to beat me."
20:19 And that day, I mean, when I called Danielle,
20:24 for me, that was the passing of the baton.
20:27 But to be there that day for that scene,
20:30 that was the moment it was handed over.
20:32 You know that beautiful passage,
20:33 those of you who love Toni Morrison,
20:35 that beautiful passage in "Song of Solomon"
20:38 where she talks about pass it on, pass it on, pass it on.
20:41 That's what it felt like to me to be there,
20:43 is the passing on.
20:44 - And can we say something?
20:45 I think all of us will agree.
20:48 Queen O was there with us a lot,
20:52 in the trenches where there were snakes.
20:57 - And mosquitoes.
20:57 - And mosquitoes.
20:58 - There's a lot of mosquitoes.
20:59 - Hot.
21:01 We all would gather up and be like, "She's here."
21:05 That's not like, we didn't think she,
21:07 we thought, okay, she could just produce the movie and go.
21:11 She was there with us in the trenches,
21:14 rooting us on, pulling us to the side.
21:17 I got text messages, I remember in the scene
21:20 when Nettie comes back.
21:21 We shot that scene.
21:24 That was the first scene we shot.
21:27 - First day.
21:28 - Very first day.
21:28 And I think we all could feel like,
21:32 something is missing.
21:34 And as a mother, a black woman who knows
21:38 if something, someone is taken away from you,
21:40 you don't just receive it like, "Oh, good to meet you."
21:44 You gotta pick 'em up off the floor.
21:47 So we went back to reshoot that.
21:50 And guess who was there?
21:51 Queen O.
21:52 And that was the moment where they allowed,
21:56 Blitz said, "You know what, Tasia?
21:57 "I'm gonna back off, just do what you do."
22:02 And Queen text me and said,
22:04 in the South, there's a cry we call like a wail.
22:09 Anybody?
22:09 Yeah, wailing.
22:11 And she said, "Job well done."
22:13 That, I feel it, I feel it, I feel it.
22:16 Those messages for all of us was very inspiring.
22:20 'Cause we were doing blood work.
22:22 We were stepping into our ancestors
22:24 and we were on grounds that still had slave houses.
22:27 And again, did I mention there were snakes?
22:30 (audience laughing)
22:32 So for her to be there with us in the trenches,
22:36 encouraging us, speaking to us,
22:39 doing the electric slide with us,
22:42 that was everything.
22:44 That's how I knew this is more to her
22:47 than just money, than just,
22:49 this is something to her that is special.
22:53 And she's with us, so we thank you
22:55 from the bottom of our hearts.
22:56 - And it went beyond being there for us acting-wise.
22:59 I'm talking about as a producer.
23:01 When she said, "If there is anything you need,
23:05 "don't hesitate to call."
23:07 I was nervous at first.
23:08 I was like, "Should I call?"
23:10 And my manager was like, "She would want to know this.
23:12 "Her name is on this project.
23:14 "She would want to know this."
23:15 And so when I called, when she says, "Say less,"
23:18 this woman moved mountains, moved mountains.
23:22 So I thank you for that because,
23:24 y'all and I have been doing this a while.
23:26 And I've been on productions
23:31 where I've been the only black person,
23:34 the only female, and I needed things.
23:37 And I didn't have anybody I could call.
23:39 I just had to bite the bullet,
23:40 and I had to show up every day with grace,
23:43 and I had to do my job.
23:44 It's happened more times than you would ever know.
23:46 So to be in this position, that's why I tell y'all,
23:49 this is special.
23:51 This is special.
23:54 This doesn't happen often.
23:57 It's the thing about black women.
23:59 They don't hear our tears.
24:01 They don't hear our pain.
24:02 That goes on in Hollywood.
24:05 It goes on more often than you know.
24:07 So when you see a black woman show up on this screen,
24:11 know that she had to work quadruple hard,
24:14 or whatever the word is, than her counterparts.
24:17 Know that she's getting paid just a fraction
24:19 of what her counterparts are getting paid.
24:21 And we do it with grace each and every time
24:25 we show up and give it our all.
24:28 Please take that into consideration.
24:30 So thank you for everything you fought for for us
24:33 and stood up for for us.
24:34 Thank you so much.
24:36 - So beautiful.
24:38 I just have a couple more questions.
24:40 I don't wanna leave here without talking about Blitz,
24:43 who I know you were so inspired by.
24:48 Everyone on this here was so inspired by,
24:50 and you talked about him wanting,
24:53 him inspiring you to work even harder.
24:56 So I just wanna get thoughts on how your director
25:01 pushed you through this.
25:03 - Well first I gotta go back to Miss Oman.
25:06 I have to, my spirit is telling me to.
25:08 - Do it.
25:09 - As I've said a few times,
25:12 the minute you called me on that Zoom,
25:14 and you said, "Sophia's a pretty name,"
25:20 I knew my life was about to change.
25:23 And today as I sit here, a nominee for the Golden Globes,
25:29 I have you to thank for that.
25:31 - Oh baby girl.
25:33 - I thank you.
25:34 - You did this thing.
25:36 - I thank you.
25:37 - You did this thing.
25:38 - I thank you so much.
25:40 You know, you talk about being like
25:42 the godmother of color purple.
25:44 I'm Cinderella.
25:46 (laughing)
25:47 And when the clock strikes 12, I'm keeping the dress
25:51 and the shoes and the carriage, okay?
25:54 So I thank you for that.
25:56 But also Blitz, you know, 'cause when Miss O called me,
26:02 that freed me up immediately.
26:04 'Cause if Blitz would've called me,
26:05 I would've been like, "Oh man, thank you, thank you."
26:07 But how does she feel?
26:09 What does she want?
26:11 Because I have to honor what she did and who she is.
26:14 And so the fact that she called me gave me the permission
26:19 to bring myself to the role.
26:22 And then with Blitz, because he spent so much time
26:27 for me, specifically six months, auditioning me,
26:32 when we got, yes.
26:33 Like Taraji said, thank you, Grammy winner,
26:38 Tony nominee for a year of my life on Broadway,
26:42 I had to surrender.
26:44 I had to get ego out of the way and say, like you said,
26:47 this is bigger than me.
26:49 So I did that, but I think because he took the time
26:53 to really find the, not only the right actors,
26:57 but the right spirits, the right auras to come together,
27:01 to make this really work, he allowed us to fly.
27:05 He just said, "Go, make it yours."
27:09 Like that scene that you see where Sophia kicks the door,
27:12 he originally said, "Come through the door."
27:14 I said, "Sophia ain't gonna just come through the door.
27:17 "She gonna bust that door wide open."
27:19 He let me do that.
27:20 And there was so many multiple, multiple moments like that,
27:24 that we had, and I'm not saying it in a sense
27:26 that he wasn't directing us, but sometimes that's
27:29 what leadership is, that is what directing is,
27:32 is getting out of the way, picking, yeah, yeah.
27:35 - And I just wanna close by saying,
27:40 these screenings, you've been doing a lot of them,
27:42 and I feel like, I haven't been to all of them,
27:45 but been very emotional.
27:46 What has, and the movie hasn't even come out yet.
27:49 So what has all this meant for when the movie comes out?
27:52 So what has all this meant for you?
27:53 'Cause I know when we talked, you talked about how,
27:56 Oprah, how important it was for them to have this moment,
27:59 and to have this ride.
28:01 - Yeah, during the strike, I was so,
28:03 I had to give it to God, I had to surrender,
28:05 because I was like, I know what this ride feels like,
28:08 just as Taraji was sharing with us.
28:10 It's just a beautiful experience, and this is so rare.
28:15 It's so rare where you have this real connection,
28:19 and it's so rare where you have the material that fuels you,
28:23 and the energetic force feel of that material
28:28 to continue to propel you through all of this.
28:32 And I just wanted these moments for these ladies,
28:37 and so the fact that it's absolutely happening
28:40 as the way, unfolding as it is, look what God has done.
28:44 Look what God has done.
28:45 - Look what God has done.
28:46 (audience applauding)
28:47 A beautiful way to end it.
28:48 I wish I didn't have to end it, but we have to end it,
28:50 but thank you.
28:51 - But the sisterhood is real.
28:52 The sisterhood is real, and we feel inspired
28:55 by something greater than ourselves.
28:57 - Absolutely.
28:58 Well, thank you ladies for joining me.
29:00 (audience applauding)
29:01 I wish you all success.
29:02 (upbeat music)
29:05 (upbeat music)