The tragic story of Emmett Till’s 1955 lynching is one that many Black people have been taught from an early age to be a major cautionary tale of extreme racism.
Famed actress Whoopi Goldberg is looking to remind people of his unfortunate life story but plans to do so by telling the tale from the perspective of his mom, Mamie Till-Mobley.
The upcoming film, simply titled Till will be a return to acting for Goldberg after primarily spending her time recently as a daytime talk show host on The View. According to reports, Whoopi will play Till’s grandmother, Alma Carthan, while the role of Mamie will be given to 39-year-old actress Danielle Deadwyler. Fans of Tyler Perry’s The Haves and the Have Nots will surely recognize a new look for “LaQuita Maxwell,” which will definitely see Deadwyler taking on a much more serious role.
Here’s what Goldberg said about the new film, via Variety:
“We have waited a very long time to bring this historically necessary important film to people. And as we watch the repression of American History when it comes to people of color it makes it even that more important. I couldn’t be with better people…”
Deadwyler echoed similar sentiments of the role’s prominence, also telling Variety, “It is a gift to learn the legacy and intimacies of our ancestors, those familial and communal, as is the life of Mamie Till-Mobley, a public leader and mother of the movement.”
Till, which will primarily focus on Mamie’s decision to have an open casket for Emmett and have the heartbreaking photos by David Jackson of his deformed face published in Jet Magazine, will be directed by Chinonye Chukwu who also writes the screenplay.
Whoopi will produce in partnership with MGM’s Orion Pictures, and she’ll be joined by Keith Beauchamp, Barbara Broccoli, Thomas K. Levine, Michael JP Reilly, and Frederick Zollo.
Till is set to begin shooting this September in Atlanta.