The Academy presented a screening of “Purple Rain” on Wednesday, August 17, 2016. Pictured (left to right): Marie France, Robert Cavallo, Albert Magnoli, Apollonia Kotero, Marcus Miller, Reginald Hudlin, Jerome Benton and Jill Jones.
Guests for the panel discussion preceding the film included actor Jill Jones, director Albert Magnoli, producer Robert Cavallo, costume designer Marie France, actor/musician Jerome Benton, and actor/singer Apollonia.
It was moderated by Academy Governor Reggie Hudlin and Marcus Miller. Check out video and picture highlights of the event below.
The film was set in Minneapolis, Prince’s hometown, and it centers on a young rock musician, the Kid (Prince), looking to escape his abusive family life. The Kid dedicates himself to relentless rehearsals and performances at the First Avenue nightclub with his band, the Revolution, while trying to start a stable relationship with singer Apollonia.
Purple Rain grossed almost $70 million at the box office, sold over 20 million copies of the soundtrack, won an Oscar for Original Song Score and turned Prince into the sensation he remains today.
Byron Phillips, Van Jones and Academy governor/moderator Reginald Hudlin prior to a screening of “Purple Rain” presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, on Wednesday, August 17, 2016. ©AMPAS
Chrisette Hudlin, Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs, Academy governor/moderator Reginald Hudlin and Stanley Isaacs prior to a screening of “Purple Rain” presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, on Wednesday, August 17, 2016. ©AMPAS
Moderators Marcus Miller (left) and Reginald Hudlin prior to a screening of “Purple Rain” presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, on Wednesday, August 17, 2016. ©AMPAS
The Genesis of the Film
Jill and Jerome
Academy governor/moderator Reginald Hudlin (left), actor/musician Jerome Benton (center) and actress/musician Jill Jones prior to a screening of “Purple Rain” presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, on Wednesday, August 17, 2016. ©AMPAS
The Academy presented a screening of “Purple Rain” on Wednesday, August 17, 2016. Pictured (left to right): Marie France, Robert Cavallo, Albert Magnoli, Apollonia Kotero, Marcus Miller, Reginald Hudlin, Jerome Benton and Jill Jones. ©AMPAS
Writing and Casting
Costume Design
Actress/musician Apollonia Kotero (left), moderator Marcus Miller (center) and Academy governor/moderator Reginald Hudlin prior to a screening of “Purple Rain” presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, on Wednesday, August 17, 2016. ©AMPAS
Apollonia
The Academy presented a screening of “Purple Rain” on Wednesday, August 17, 2016. Pictured (left to right): Jerome Benton, Jill Jones, Marie France, Reginald Hudlin, Apollonia Kotero, Albert Magnoli, Robert Cavallo and Joe Ruffalo. ©AMPAS
Academy governor/moderator Reginald Hudlin prior to a screening of “Purple Rain” presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, on Wednesday, August 17, 2016. ©AMPAS
Craig Robinson, left, Judith Hill and Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds perform Wednesday at the Hollywood Bowl. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
As movies go, “Shaft” and “Waiting to Exhale” are about as different as can be.
In the former, Richard Roundtree plays a private detective battling enemies on the streets of New York. In the latter, Whitney Houston is a show-biz professional in love with the wrong guy.
But on Wednesday night at the Hollywood Bowl, these disparate pictures were celebrated, along with many others, for what they share: killer songs.
The occasion was “The Black Movie Soundtrack II,” the sequel to a successful production mounted at the Bowl in 2014 that brought together acts such as Public Enemy and En Vogue to perform music from films including “Sparkle,” “In the Heat of the Night” and “Do the Right Thing.”
Like the first installment, Wednesday’s concert was overseen by Reginald Hudlin, who produced this year’s Academy Awards ceremony, and Marcus Miller, the Grammy-winning bassist and bandleader known for his work with Miles Davis and Luther Vandross. (Miller’s small combo was accompanied by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra under the direction of Vince Mendoza.)
Actor Craig Robinson returned as host, and in his welcome to the audience, he said the show — which paired live performances with movie clips projected on a large screen — had an explicit feel-good design.
“A hug for your soul,” he called it.
Verdine White, left, Philip Bailey and Ralph Johnson of Earth Wind & Fire. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
That’s certainly what Charlie Wilson, resplendent in a sparkly white suit, delivered in his charismatic take on Isaac Hayes’ “Theme From Shaft.” Ditto Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, who flexed his creamy falsetto in “Superfly,” one of several Curtis Mayfield tunes performed Wednesday; later, Gladys Knight revisited the lush soul-funk songs Mayfield wrote for her and the Pips to sing in 1974’s “Claudine.”
More positive vibes came from the old-school hip-hop crew Full Force, which zoomed through “Ain’t My Type of Hype” (from Hundlin’s movie “House Party”); Philip Bailey, Verdine White and Ralph Johnson of Earth Wind & Fire in a jubilant “September”; and singer Judith Hill, who did “Sittin’ Up in My Room” as part of a suite of songs created by Babyface for “Boomerang” and “Waiting to Exhale.”
That medley also featured Lalah Hathaway in “Love Shoulda Brought You Home” and Babyface himself in “Give U My Heart” — persuasive evidence that this perceptive singer, songwriter and producer has earned a place next to Mayfield as one of R&B’s true auteurs.
As crowd-pleasing as “Black Movie Soundtrack” set out to be, the show used heavier moments to demonstrate the thematic and emotional range of black cinema — and to illustrate, as motion picture academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs said in her opening remarks, that “black movie music matters.”
Common and Alice Smith performed “Glory,” from the movie “Selma.” (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
In a turn from the night’s cheerful nostalgia, Common and Alice Smith performed “Glory,” the rousing — and unsparing — hip-hop anthem from Ava DuVernay’s “Selma” in which Common explained “why Rosa sat on the bus” and “why we walk through Ferguson with our hands up.”
And though a tribute to the late Prince had Wilson busting sweet moves through “Baby I’m a Star,” the memorial closed on a more somber note, with Hathaway singing the title track from “Purple Rain” as though it were an age-old hymn.
Which, come to think of it, it basically is.
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The stars came out in droves to celebrate once again The Black Movie Soundtrack II hosted by comedian and actor Craig Robinson on Wednesday August 31st at the Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles.
I’m so proud of this #BlackPanther @chadwickboseman! Hard work pays off👊🏾 Excellent running into you everywhere this week @only1karimah! Lol #Greene #ActorsdoingitWell #TheHollywoodBowl
In attendance were Actors Anthony Anderson, Chadwick Boseman who will play Marvel’s Black Panther, Chad Coleman from ‘The Walking Dead’ and Actresses Skye P. Marshall, Vanessa Bell Calloway and Bresha Webb.
A-Team : Reginald, Craig and Marcus hosted the evening
By popular demand, Grammy winner Marcus Miller and acclaimed producer/director Reginald Hudlin reprise the Bowl’s 2014 Black Movie Soundtrack event with new clips and some funky favorites.
The LA Philharmonic orchestra played 70’s medleys accompanied by the respective films on the screens performed by musicians Charlie Wilson, Babyface and Lalah Hathaway who serenaded to the classics of Shaft, Superfly and Little Ghetto Boy.
Gladys Knight brought the house down as she performed three songs from the film ‘Claudine’. The audience sang along to a vibrant Gladys as she sang ‘Make Yours a Happy Home’, ‘The Makings of You’ and ‘On and On’.
Lady in red: Gladys Knight wrote on her instagram that she had an amazing night
Highlight of the evening was a touching tribute to the passing of Earth Wind and Fires Maurice White who passed away earlier this year on February the 4th.
The remaining members of the band lit up the night as they performed their chart toppers, ‘Got to Get You into My Life’ , ‘That’s The Way of the World’ and the infectious ‘September’.
Still going strong: The remaining members of Earth Wind and Fire lit the night up as they performed their chart toppers
The tributes didn’t end there with another passing of the legendary singer Prince, who also passed away this year on April 21st. Charlie Wilson and Lalah Hathaway performed ‘Take me with you’ , Chance Howard performed ‘When Doves Cry’, Alice Smith sang ‘If I was your girlfriend’ and Charlie Wilson performed ‘Baby I’m a Star’.
Remembered: Whitey Houston and Prince were paid tribute on the night
Lalah Hathaway ended the tribute with a powerful rendition of ‘Purple Rain’ to a audience who lit up the stadium with their cell phone lights singing along as the stage hummed to the hue of the colour purple.
The night ended with the Oscar award winning song ‘Glory, performed by Common and guest sung with Alice Smith to the film by the same name ‘Glory’.
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9/1/2016 by Gail Mitchell
Ebet Roberts/Redferns
Prince performs during the Purple Rain tour.
While co-hosting a special screening of Prince’s Purple Rain in association with the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences earlier this week, writer/director Reginald Hudlin hinted that last night’s (Aug. 31) “The Black Movie Soundtrack II” at the Hollywood Bowl would be “the sickest show ever.”
And the concert did indeed notch some memorable high notes as Common, Earth, Wind & Fire, Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, Gladys Knight, Charlie Wilson and more brought to life the rich, diverse and vibrant legacy of black cinema and its music. Or as AMPAS president Cheryl Boone Isaacs so aptly pointed out before the show started, “We’re here to celebrate the ways in which black movie music matters.”
Here are five top moments from the show:
Best joke of the night: The first movie spotlighted was 1941’s Hellzapoppin’, in particular a frenetic dance sequence—a precursor to Dirty Dancing and Footloose—featuring black dancers Slim Gaillard, Slam Stewart and Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers doing the Lindy Hop. Host Craig Robinson later explained the sequence was filmed as a self-contained segment. That way, the segment could easily be cut out of the movie when it was shown to Southern audiences. To cheers and whoops from the audience, Robinson said, “Today, we call them Trump supporters.”
Knight sings Claudine: Gladys Knight claimed the evening’s first standing ovation with a suite of songs from the 1974 film starring Diahann Carroll and James Earl Jones. Curtis Mayfield produced the soundtrack, which included six songs he wrote for Knight & the Pips. Knight’s searing and soaring vocals on “Make Yours a Happy Home,” “On and On” and, especially, “The Makings of You” took the worshipful audience to church and back.
Maurice White remembered: Earth, Wind & Fire members Verdine White, Philip Bailey and Ralph Johnson saluted the group’s founder/visionary while reprising a trio of movie-featured songs: “Got to Get You Into My Life,” “September” and “That’s the Way of the World.” The latter turned into a Bowl sing-along, set off by Bailey’s on-point falsetto and Paul Jackson Jr.’s standout guitar solo.
Long live Prince: Prince fans in the house knew exactly what was up when the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and music director/bassist Marcus Miller’s band (including Jackson Jr., John Beasley and Kris Bowers) delivered a poignant take on “Venus de Milo” from 1986’s Under the Cherry Moon. Next came scream and shout-drawing performances “Take Me With You” (a duet with Charlie Wilson and Lalah Hathaway), “When Doves Cry” (movingly rendered by former Prince backup singer Chance Howard), “If I Was Your Girlfriend” (Alice Smith) and Wilson returning for a foot-stomping turn on “Baby, I’m a Star.” But it was Hathaway, R&B legend Donny Hathaway’s Grammy-winning daughter, whose sonorous vocals brought everyone to their feet (phone flashlights in tow) with a mesmerizing cover of “Purple Rain.”
A moment of “Glory.” The show’s fitting finale featured Common and Smith performing “Glory,” the Oscar- and Grammy-winning song written and performed by Common and John Legend. “It didn’t get all the praise it deserved,” said Robinson of the original song featured in Selma. “But its music reaches into our souls with honesty and truth.”
Rounding out “The Black Movie Soundtrack II” lineup: a revisit of Babyface’s movie music resume with the man himself, Judith Hill and Hathaway, including songs from Boomerang (“Love Shoulda Brought You Home”) and Waiting to Exhale (“Exhale [Shoop Shoop]”). Full Force paid homage to the ‘90s with “Ain’t My Type of Hype” from the Hudlin-directed cult classic House Party.
Created and produced by Hudlin, Grammy winning-musician Miller and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association in association with AMPAS, “The Black Movie Soundtrack” series launched in 2014 with Robinson as host. Hudlin, who produced this year’s Oscar telecast, said he’s already planning a third installment. “I’ve still got 100 songs to go,” he told a cheering Hollywood Bowl audience.
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