MACON, Ga. — With the bad weather out of the way, a lot of filming happened Thursday for the musical adaptation of ‘The Color Purple.’ 13WMAZ camped out awhile on 3rd Street to see the sights and sounds.
It’s been 10 years since crews filmed ‘42’ in town, but this movie feels a lot like ‘42’ because it’s also a period piece so old cars and people dressed in costumes lined the street.
To get a glimpse of the time period, all of the big machinery is back in town, along with necessities like yellow filming signs we’ve come to recognize in Macon.
'The Color Purple' is scheduled to be released by Warner Bros. Pictures in Dec. 2023.
If you're unfamiliar with the story, it's a musical adaptation of Alice Walker's 1982 novel about an African-American woman named Celie who lives in the South in the early 1900s.
The first film adaptation came from director Steven Spielberg in 1985 and was both a critical and commercial success. It was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress. It ultimately won zero.
The musical version first hit Broadway in 2005 and was a similar success on-stage, receiving several Tony nominations.
Now, the two are combining in musical adaptation for the silver screen. Fantasia Barrino will play Celie, Taraji P. Henson will play Shug Avery, Danielle Brooks will play Sofia, H.E.R. will play Squeak, and Ciara will play Nettie.