MAHALIA! planned to begin shooting this October; playing at next year’s Cannes?
Not too long ago we let you know that American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino was set to play the iconic Mahalia Jackson in Euzhan Palcy’s upcoming biopic MAHALIA! Now we’ve uncovered some more news on the feature.
Shadow and Act relays that MAHALIA! will begin filming in October, mostly in Chicago and New Orlean, aiming for a release late next year. Additionally, Michael Clarke Duncan (THE GREEN MILE) and Diahann Carroll (CLAUDINE) might have roles in the film.
In a recent interview with the film’s executive producer Adrian Taylor, it was revealed that Barrino will sing only six of the songs from the Grammy Award-winning Jackson; she’ll utilize lip-syncing for recordings from her later years.
Before filming has even begun, an invitation to next year’s Cannes Film Festival has already gone out to MAHALIA! If it’s all complete before April 6, the film can play either in competition or out of competition. A lapse from October to April should be enough time to complete MAHALIA!, but you never know.
I’m looking forward to Barrino’s performance more than anything else in MAHALIA!, but this extremely early offer to play at Cannes isn’t too shabby. Hopefully the film lives up to such promise and then some.
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