By Ron Wynn
NASHVILLE, TN — The Christmas Day launch of the latest version of “The Color Purple” was a huge hit, and as the holiday week extended into the New Year, the film remains in the Top 5 for audience impact and sales. But there’s also a surprise guest in this new version. Almost 40 years ago Whoopi Goldberg starred in the first film adaptation of Alice Walker’s novel. She played Celie, an abused and uneducated Southern Black woman whose journey to liberation is at the center of Walker’s tale. The film, directed by Steven Spielberg, marked Goldberg’s big screen debut and her performance earned an Academy Award nomination for best actress. She didn’t win that year, but it was the first step on Goldberg’s journey to become the first Black woman to achieve an EGOT (winning an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony award).
Now she is making a cameo in the current version. The filmmakers did everything they could to keep it a secret until the film made its debut in theaters Christmas Day.
“We had to be stealthy about her involvement from the beginning. Only key crew were aware that Whoopi was playing the role,” director Blitz Bazawule told Variety. “We also never mentioned her in any press and she remained uncredited for the role.”The surprise appearance is another way that the 2023 film extends and continues the legacy of the 1985 movie; it is produced by Steven Spielberg and Quincy Jones, who were behind the original , as well as Oprah Winfrey, who earned a best supporting actress Oscar nomination for her performance, plus Scott Sanders, who led production on the Tony-winning Broadway musical adaptation.
“I always knew I wanted a connection between the original cast of ‘The Color Purple’ and the new cast. The obvious person was Whoopi because she’s synonymous with the title,” Bazawule added. He said he and screenwriter Marcus Gardley went back and forth about how to best incorporate Goldberg into the story. “We settled on the midwife because of its symbolic meeting.”
Gardley explained the symbolism in an interview with the Los Angeles Times: “She’s the one to not only encourage her during the birth, but it’s like she herself gave birth to the role and now we see her passing it down. It’s one of the most beautiful scenes because you see [Goldberg] looking upon [Mpasi] with pride and telling her, ‘You can do it.’” Writing the perfect role was just the first step. Someone needed to approach Goldberg to play the part, so Bazawule made the call. “It was probably one of the most nervous calls ever,” he continued, looking back on the fateful conversation. “She was warm from the start and then she ended by saying, ‘Blitz, the only way I’m not going to be there is if I get hit by a bus.’ I broke out laughing. It was the best phone call ever.”
Winfrey described the cameo as both “a wonderful Easter egg for audiences who have appreciated the film over the years, for the diehards” and “a lovely homage to Whoopi.” She also told the Hollywood Reporter that she declined to make a cameo in the film, worrying it’d be distracting if she’d popped up in the scene where Sofia (Danielle Brooks) and Harpo (Corey Hawkins) get married. “Also, I just think it’s more special that it’s just Whoopi,” Winfrey said.
“The Color Purple” is now showing in theaters.
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