When it was revealed that Chadwick Boseman passed away in late August, it was known that he had one more film ready to be released, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” Now, with the adaptation of the August Wilson play coming to Netflix later this year, we have our first look at the period film that now has an unfortunate asterisk next to it.
As mentioned, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” is an adaptation of the August Wilson play. And if that name rings a bell for certain film fans, then you’re probably remembering the Oscar-winning adaptation to one of his other works, “Fences.” Just like in that film, ‘Ma Rainey’s’ also has Viola Davis and Denzel Washington reuniting. However, this time Washington is only producing, with Viola playing the title role.
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” stars Davis as Ma Rainey, one of the best Blues singers around in 1927 Chicago. The story follows the singer as she is being pressured to release a brand-new recording from her record executives, but her trumpet player, Levee (Boseman), is hoping to use this time to change her sound a little…and further his own career in the process. The New York Times has just released new pictures from the feature, showing both Davis and Boseman in action.
And for Washington, the death of Boseman makes the whole situation feel a bit unreal. “He did a brilliant job, and he’s gone,” said Denzel Washington. “I still can’t believe it.”
‘Ma Rainey’s’ comes from director George C. Wolfe and the screenwriter Ruben Santiago-Hudson. Netflix has already secured the distribution of the film and has scheduled it for release on December 18. Obviously, with Davis and Boseman in starring roles, combined with Denzel Washington as producer and the history he has with August Wilson adaptations, the streaming service has awards season hopes for ‘Ma Rainey’s.’
You can see the new pictures below:
