Oscar
winner Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson, better known by the stage name
H.E.R., is in final talks to make her feature film acting debut in "The Color Purple" movie musical. The upcoming Warner Bros project is the feature adaptation of the Tony-winning Broadway musical, which itself is an adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1982 novel by Alice Walker, on which the Oscar-nominated Steven Spielberg-directed 1985 movie was based.
"In The Heights" star Corey Hawkins joined the film this week.
The story revolves around a woman named Celie Harris and tracks her life-long struggles as an African American woman living in the South during the early 1900s.
According to report, H.E.R., known for hit songs like "Best Part" and "
Focus
", will play Squeak, who, in the musical, goes from a juke joint waitress to an aspiring singer.
Rae Dawn Chong played the role in the original Spielberg feature.
Blitz Bazawule, the filmmaker behind Beyonce's video "Black Is King", is set to direct the modern take on the musical.
Marcus Gardley penned the screenplay, adapted from Marsha Norman's book and scored by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and
Stephen Bray
.
Sources said H.E.R. is also developing a new original song for the movie musical adaptation.
Media
mogul Oprah Winfrey, who made her feature acting debut in Spielberg's "The Color Purple" and earned an Oscar nomination, is producing via her Harpo Films banner with Spielberg under his Amblin Entertainment.
Scott Sanders and Quincy Jones, both of whom were behind the Broadway musical, will also produce.
The film has a release date of December 20, 2023.
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