The movie will be releasing in selected cinemas on November 25 before getting launched on Netflix in December
Netflix has released the trailer for the late actor Chadwick Boseman’s final movie, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, adapted from the play of the same name by August Wilson, which had won a Tony Award for Best Play in 1985.
The actor, known around the world for his portrayal of King T’Challa, the Black Panther in Marvel’s Black Panther died in August at the age of 43 after a four-year battle with colon cancer. His character has been suggested as a contender for a posthumous Oscar for his performance in the movie.
Movie details
The movie is about “Mother of the Blues” Ma Rainey, played by Viola Davis, and her struggle for control with her white producer amidst recording her final album. Boseman plays the role of Levee, an ambitious trumpeter in her group.
Davis spoke fondly about Boseman, saying that she was not competing with his mother, but considered him as her baby. Davis had previously played his mother in the James Brown biopic Get On Up. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is produced by Denzel Washington, who had previously directed and starred in Fences, another adaptation from Wilson. Viola Davis had acted in that as well and won her first Oscar.
Washington also spoke about Boseman, calling him a gentle soul and a brilliant artist who will stay with us forever through his performances in his short, yet illustrious career. Boseman had once talked about Washington paying his tuition to the British American Drama Academy’s Midsummer program while promoting Black Panther in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Boseman had also starred in Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods earlier this year, a role that might get him a posthumous best supporting actor nomination.
(Cover: Netflix)