After dominating Grammys, Jon Batiste to make acting debut with ‘The Color Purple’

New Orleans-born composer-singer Jon Batiste, who registered five wins at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, is all set to venture into acting as he has joined the cast of the coming-of-age period drama, The Color Purple, directed by Blitz Bazawule,.

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The musical, produced by Warner Bros, is an adaptation of Alice Walker’s iconic American novel of the same name as well as the Oscar-nominated 1985 film from Steven Spielberg and Tony Award-winning Broadway musical that it inspired. Oprah Winfrey, who made her feature acting debut in that movie, is producing the new project under her Harpo Films banner.

The film will see Spielberg returning to produce for his Amblin Entertainment. Scott Sanders and Quincy Jones, both of whom produced the Broadway musical, are also producers. — IANS