Netflix has released the first trailer forMa Rainey’s Black Bottom, which features the final performance fromChadwick Boseman, who died earlier this year following a four-year battle with cancer.
George C. Wolfedirected the adaptation ofAugust Wilson’s beloved play, which celebrates the transformative power of the blues and the artists who refuse to let society’s prejudices dictate their worth.
The film is set in the 1920s as tensions and temperatures rise over the course of an afternoon recording session in Chicago, where a band of musicians await trailblazing performer Ma Rainey (Viola Davis), the legendary “Mother of the Blues.” Late to the session, the fearless, fiery Ma engages in a battle of wills with her white manager and producer over control of her music. As the band waits in the studio’s claustrophobic rehearsal room, ambitious trumpeter Levee (Boseman) – who has an eye for Ma’s girlfriend and is determined to stake his own claim on the music industry – spurs his fellow musicians into an eruption of stories revealing truths that will forever change the course of their lives.
Glynn TurmanandZoladuoColman DomingoandTaylor Paigeco-star alongsideMichael Potts,Jonny Coyne,Jeremy Shamos,Dusan BrownandJoshua Harto. The play was adapted for the screen byRuben Santiago-Hudson, and the film was produced byDenzel WashingtonandTodd Black, who earned a Best Picture nomination for producingFencestogether.
That film won Davis an Oscar, and she may very well find herself back in contention this year along with Boseman, who will be eligible for two posthumous nominations should Netflix campaign him as the male lead in this movie. He was also a supporting actor in another one of Netflix’s many awards contenders –Spike Lee’sDa 5 Bloods.
Grammy winnerBranford Marsalisprovides the score forMa Rainey’s Black Bottom, which was also produced byDany Wolf, and executive produced byConstanza Romero. Netflix will release the film in select theaters in November before it debuts on the streaming service on Dec. 18. So “1, 2, you know what to do…” Watch the trailer below, andclick hereto check out Marvel’s moving tribute video to Boseman, who kept his tragic cancer diagnosis hidden from his MCU co-stars.
