Netflix released the official trailer for the much anticipated feature film Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Based on the play of the same name by Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson, the film follows the indubitable talent Ma Rainey, who became known as the “Mother of the Blues,” as she navigates her music career in 1920s Chicago, alongside dedicated horn player Levee, and their battle with a controlling white management regime. The adapted screenplay was penned by scribe Ruben Santiago-Hudson.
Directed by George C. Wolfe, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is the last film featuring the late Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther), who plays Levee. The trailer shows him at his acting best as he portrays the overly ambitious and wide-eyed trumpeter. Boseman passed away on Aug. 28 after a battle with colon cancer.
It is possible that Boseman may be nominated for his role in the film, making him the first actor to receive two posthumous Oscar nominations in one year. The other nomination could come from his role in Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods.
Academy Award Winning actress Viola Davis (Widows) stars as Ma Rainey, alongside Colman Domingo (If Beale Street Could Talk), Michael Potts (Cicada), Glynn Turman (Power), Dusan Brown (42) and Taylor Paige (White Boy Rick). Denzel Washington, who worked with Davis on Fences, another riveting film adapted from an August Wilson play, joins as producer. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom will be released Dec. 18 on Netflix.
