Queen Latifah has long wanted to bring the life story of “The Empress of the Blues” Bessie Smith to the screen (probably because the resemblance is so uncanny), and now it looks as if she may finally have the chance. HBO is producing, Dee Rees (Pariah) is writing and directing it, and Queen Latifah will of course star in an upcoming biopic of the brilliant but troubled African-American singer.
Titled Blue Goose Hollow (the area in Chattanooga, Tennessee where she was born and raised), the film, will be a biography of Bessie Smith, considered by many to be the greatest blues singer of all time, and who became the highest paid African American performer of the roaring twenties. The film will reportedly debunk many of the myths that have circulated about her since her untimely death in 1937.
From IndieWire: “Bessie Smith began her professional career in 1912 under the tutalege of the brilliant Ma Rainey, and later performed in various touring minstrel shows and cabarets. By the 1920s, she was a star in black shows. Her first recording, Down-Hearted Blues, established her as the most successful black performing artist of her time.
“In 1929, she appeared in the film St. Louis Blues. By then, however, alcoholism is said to have ruined her career, as did the Great Depression, which affected the recording and entertainment industries as a whole.
“By 1936, Smith was again performing in shows and clubs, but she died, following an automobile accident, before her next recording session had been arranged.
“She made almost 200 recordings, including remarkable duets with LouiArmstrong. She also recorded vigorous versions of jazz standards.”
I see an Oscar nod in the future! Blue Goose Hollw has a mid-June 2014 production start date in Atlanta.
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