Posted by | Cyrena Rose
Looks like New Orleans-born gospel queen Mahalia Jackson will finally make it to the big screen.
In 2011, Fantasia had signed on to play the role but Jackson’s family reportedly had second thoughts about her playing the part.
The “Mother of Gospel Music” grew up in the Black Pearl section of Uptown’s Carrollton neighborhood; one of New Orleans’ premier performance spaces still bears her name. She moved to Chicago at age 16, where her membership in a church choir vaulted her to eventual stardom.
ShadowAndAct is reporting the new Mahalia Jackson project comes from screenwriter/director and college professor at Columbia College in Chicago, Vaun Monroe and Chicago filmmaker Ruth L Ratny, for Joyful Noise, LLC.
Here are some details:
It’ll be based on Mahalia’s seminal biography, Just Mahalia, Baby, which is the source for most of the information publicly available about the gospel diva’s life and music. It was authored by Mahalia’s friend, Laurraine Goreau, a distinguished New Orleans writer and editor, who had access to a lifetime of Mahalia memorabilia.
The filmmakers are hoping to eventually attract the $20 million in funding that will be necessary to make the kind of film that they believe Jackson deserves, and say that a small percentage of that figure has already been raised.
The film will be shot in Chicago, and has the support of the mayor, civic, business and church leaders.
In the film, the singer rises through faith from her scrubwoman’s knees, to become the world’s greatest gospel singer, taking gospel out of churches into the mainstream throughout the world, including becoming the first gospel singer to perform at Carnegie Hall, and the riches, fame and love that had previously eluded her, all come.
The filmmakers of this new Mahalia Jackson scripted film, are aiming for a late 2014 release – with Christmas being ideal…stay tuned!
