(Left) Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor stars as Hattie in director RaMell Ross’s ‘Nickel Boys’, from Orion Photos. Photograph: Courtesy of Orion Photos. © 2024 Amazon Content material Companies LLC. All Rights Reserved. (Proper) Mick Jagger presents the Oscar® for Unique Tune through the reside ABC Telecast of the 97th Oscars® on the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 2, 2025. Credit score/Supplier: Phil McCarten / The Academy. Copyright: ©A.M.P.A.S.
Preview:
- Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor and Mick Jagger are growing a biopic of Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
- Ellis-Taylor is writing the script and should play the long-lasting musician.
- It’ll be primarily based partly on Gayle Wald’s biography of Tharpe.
Biopics of iconic musicians nonetheless do strong enterprise and ceaselessly present up in awards rivalry –– see the latest Bob Dylan effort ‘A Complete Unknown’ for proof of that. So ‘Nickel Boys’Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor and Mick Jagger (no slouch himself within the musical legend division) are hoping the urge for food is there for a film about rock and roll legend Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
Deadline brings word that Ellis-Taylor is writing a script and is on board to supply the film alongside Jagger (who’s shepherding by way of his Jagged Movies firm), however there isn’t any point out but of whether or not the previous would star.
Related Article: Director Ava DuVernay and Actress Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor Talk ‘Origin’
What’s the story of the Sister Rosetta Tharpe?
Sister Rosetta in ‘Sister Rosetta Tharpe: The Godmother of Rock & Roll’. Photograph: PBS American Masters.
Rising to fame within the Nineteen Thirties and ’40s, Sister Rosetta Tharpe was a trailblazing gospel guitarist and singer whose fearless transgressions of musical boundaries laid the inspiration for rock and roll.
An artist who broke boundaries as a Black girl in music, she influenced numerous legends together with her music, together with the likes of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry, Tina Turner, Bonnie Raitt, Eric Clapton, and Little Richard.
Like different artists who didn’t get all the popularity they deserved, Tharpe’s contributions to music have been to some extent neglected throughout her lifetime, whilst she was dubbed “the Godmother of Rock and Roll.” She died in 1973 and was solely inducted into the Rock and Roll Corridor of Fame posthumously in 2018.
And her legacy persists by means of her music; her songs ceaselessly seem in motion pictures and exhibits, together with, most not too long ago, 2022 collection ‘A League of Their Own,’ ‘Atlanta,’‘Death on the Nile,’‘I Know This Much is True’ and ‘Elvis & Nixon.’
In a key level, the film has the participation of Tharpe’s property, which has granted rights to her music catalogue. And the script will draw from Gayle Wald’s definitive biography ‘Shout, Sister, Shout!: The Untold Story of Rock-and-Roll Trailblazer Sister Rosetta Tharpe,’ to which the producers secured unique rights.
Along with the scripted function on Tharpe, a companion documentary, that includes entry to her musical catalogue, is presently within the works.
That movie will discover Tharpe’s legacy by means of interviews with buddies, collaborators, music students, and protégés, providing entry to Wald’s unique recordings with gospel singer Marie Knight, Tharpe’s closest buddy and collaborator.
And alongside Ellis-Taylor and Jagger, the brand new challenge has the backing of Tribeca Studios and Inaudible Productions.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe biopic: the producers communicate
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor stars as Hattie in director RaMell Ross’s ‘Nickel Boys’, from Orion Photos. Photograph: Courtesy of Orion Photos. © 2024 Amazon Content material Companies LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Right here’s what Ellis-Taylor needed to say in regards to the film and Tharpe:
“With six guitar strings and an amplifier as a battering ram, Sister Rosetta Tharpe knocked down the Jericho partitions of conference and respectability. I’m thrilled to associate with Tribeca, Jagged Movies and Inaudible Movies to usher Sister Rosetta, a queer girl formed within the pews of the Black South, to the display screen.”
As for Jagger:
“I’m so thrilled to be an element in telling the story of Sister Rosetta Tharpe who was a trailblazing singer and electrifying guitarist. She reshaped music historical past and influenced numerous artists.”
Lastly, right here’s Jane Rosenthal of Tribeca Movies:
“The corporate is proud to champion the daring storytelling of Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor to carry this enigmatic icon’s story to gentle.”
Isn’t there one other Sister Rosetta Tharpe biopic within the works?
(L to R): Lizzo and Jack Black in ‘The Mandalorian.’ Photograph: Lucasfilm/Disney+
It’s true –– this isn’t the one challenge about Tharpe making its means by means of growth.
Amazon MGM Studios is placing collectively its personal tackle her story, with ‘About Rattling Time’ singer Lizzo connected to play Tharpe.
According to a Deadline report from again in March, Natalie Chaidez and Kwynn Perry are engaged on a screenplay that, “captures a pivotal interval in her life — one among groundbreaking innovation, defiant ardour, and secret love. As she shatters musical boundaries together with her signature guitar sound, Rosetta should navigate societal constraints, conceal her love for one more girl, and in the end remodel a marriage into one of the legendary concert events in historical past — the primary stadium present.”
Which can efficiently make it to screens? Let’s discover out! Maybe each will emerge on the similar time for a traditional ‘Armageddon’/‘Deep Impact’–model face-off, solely with extra guitars.
When will the Tharpe biopic be on screens?
That’s a troublesome query to reply proper now because it’s nonetheless at a nascent stage. However provided that the Ellis-Taylor/Jagger film has the household’s backing and people essential music rights, it positively has a great shot.
Mick Jagger presents the Oscar® for Unique Tune through the reside ABC Telecast of the 97th Oscars® on the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 2, 2025. Credit score/Supplier: Phil McCarten / The Academy. Copyright: ©A.M.P.A.S.