Diana Approves of THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLIDAY

[sansradio]

https://www.nydailynews.com/snyde/ny...42y-story.html

[captainjames]

Good article

[jobeterob]

Bet it’ll get a couple Oscar nominations

[Ollie9]

It’s really sad the film will not be seen on the big screen. Straight to streaming i guess. Apart from anything else, i was really looking forward to seeing interviews of Diana at the premiere.
Perhaps it will be screened by some independent theatres later in the year. Here’s hoping.

[Laurent]

Can someone copy & paste the text in here ? The site is inaccessible from Europe.

[milven]

Can someone copy & paste the text in here ? The site is inaccessible from Europe.

Sure. Here it is

By KARU F. DANIELS
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
FEB 24, 2021

Lee Daniels’ latest film, “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” has gotten a ringing endorsement from someone whose opinion matters most: Diana Ross.

The superstar singer, known for hits such as “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” “I’m Coming Out” and “Love Hangover,” made her feature film acting debut as the groundbreaking jazz singer in 1972′s “Lady Sings The Blues.”

The Motown diva also scored a Golden Globe award and an Academy Award nomination for her depiction of the drug-addicted, glamorous music trailblazer behind self-penned tunes such as “God Bless the Child,” “Now or Never,” “Fine and Mellow” and “Don’t Explain.”

For Daniels’ latest cinematic foray, Grammy Award-nominated singer/songwriter Andra Day also makes her feature film debut as Holiday in a multi-layered narrative that tells the not-so-glamorized side of her tragic but impactful legacy.

Ross’ youngest son, Evan Ross, also stars in the movie which focuses on the U.S. government’s campaign to destroy Holiday as her anti-lynching ballad “Strange Fruit” frazzled the J. Edgar Hoover-run FBI.

The 32-year-old actor said his mom approves of the film — and not just because he’s in it.

“She loved it,” Ross told Variety columnist Mark Malkin. “She loves Lee, and she thought it was cinematically amazing. She thought the performances were amazing.”

With his role as young FBI agent Sam Williams, the 32-year-old actor — seen in films such as “ATL” and “Mooz-Lum” — plays a pivotal role in bringing down the iconic singer and songwriter, all under the direction of the corrupt and racist Harry J. Anslinger [[played by Garrett Hedlund).

Although Daniels digs much deeper and took a less-romanticized approached to the Suzan-Lori Parks-scripted Billie Holiday story, Evan Ross thinks her life should be explored on the big screen again.

“It’s so important for the story to be told again, plus it brings more attention to ‘Lady Sings the Blues,’” he shared. “People can watch that movie again, too. It made me first want to learn about Billie Holiday. I think the same thing is going to happen now.”

Evan Ross, also an alum of Daniels’ star-studded Fox drama “Star,” revealed that the “Rise Up” singer took a totally method approach to the role.

“She doesn’t smoke in her life. She doesn’t drink,” he shared. “She was in character all the time. And so by the end of it, I was like, ‘Did I make best friends with Billie Holiday?’ because she was so in there. I even worried because she was so deep in. But she really pulled it off.”

Unlike “Lady Sings the Blues,” Daniels film is a darker and more explicit affair, presenting many dimensions of Holiday’s love life [[with male and female partners) but most notably federal agent Jimmy Fletcher — with whom she had a dark and stormy relationship.

“Moonlight” star Trevante Rhodes stars as Fletcher in the film, which also include performances by Tyler James Williams, Rob Morgan, Tone Bell, Natasha Lyonne, Miss Lawrence, Leslie Jordan and Da’Vine Joy Randolph.

Some 49 years after his mom launched her successful acting career embodying Holiday in a Berry Gordy-produced and Suzanne de Passe-scripted classic, Ross told Yahoo!’s Kevin Polowy that he was “happy to be part of something so powerful and amazing.”

“The United States vs. Billie Holiday” premieres Feb. 26 on Hulu.

[milven]

Even Ross was on THE TALK yesterday talking about his part as FBI agent in the movie.

[Laurent]

Sure. Here it is

Thanks Milven !

[jack020]

https://variety.com/2021/film/column...ay-1234912463/

Evan Ross appears in Lee Daniels’ “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” as a federal agent. He knows the subject well — his mom, Diana Ross, earned an Oscar nom for her portrayal of Holiday in 1972’s “Lady Sings the Blues.” Now, Evan says his mother approves of the latest telling of the Holiday story. “She loved it,” he tells me from his and wife Ashlee Simpson’s home in Los Angeles. “She loves Lee, and she thought it was cinematically amazing. She thought the performances were amazing.”
Ross, 32, says “Lady Sings the Blues” is the reason he went into acting. “It’s so important for the story to be told again, plus it brings more attention to ‘Lady Sings the Blues,’” he says. “People can watch that movie again, too. It made me first want to learn about Billie Holiday. I think the same thing is going to happen now.”

Daniels’ film traces the government’s attempt to stop Holiday, played by singer-songwriter Andra Day in her acting debut, from performing “Strange Fruit,” the haunting song about lynching. “It’s interesting to think about all the art at the time that probably got shut down because it was telling the truth,” Ross says. “Lee was talking about it the other day. Billie was an activist without trying to be an activist. She was just doing what she loved.”
Ross also says that he and Day have recorded an original song and plan to release it. The two met for the first time at a fitting before shooting started in Montreal. “By then she was already in character,” Ross recalls. “She doesn’t smoke in her life. She doesn’t drink. She was in character all the time. And so by the end of it, I was like, ‘Did I make best friends with Billie Holiday?’ because she was so in there. I even worried because she was so deep in. But she really pulled it off.”
In addition to acting and making music, Ross is also a portrait artist. He recently presented a portrait of Sammy Davis Jr. to Lena Waithe. You can see his work on his Instagram.
And then there’s his family. He and Simpson have two kids together, the youngest, son Ziggy Blu, was born on Oct. 29 during the pandemic. Simpson also has a son with ex-husband Pete Wentz. “It was a little scary,” Ross says. “Usually we have the whole family waiting outside the room. But this time, it was just me. It was actually really nice. It was different, but a special moment.