Georgia Entertainment Scene
Georgia Entertainment Scene

Whoopi Goldberg joins historical drama “Till” about the death of Emmett Till

The film is set to start shooting in Georgia in November.
Whoopi Goldberg on "The View" in 2019. (Walt Disney Television/Lou Rocco)

Credit: Walt Disney Television

Credit: Walt Disney Television

Whoopi Goldberg on "The View" in 2019. (Walt Disney Television/Lou Rocco)
By
Aug 5, 2021

Whoopi Goldberg is getting serious again with her acting career.

Besides prepping for a third iteration of “Sister Act,” “The View” host is coming to Georgia later this year for an historical drama “Till” focused on the mother of Emmett Till seeking justice for her son’s death. Goldberg is set to play Till’s grandmother Alma.

Till was a Black 14-year-old Chicagoan who was beaten and shot to death in Mississippi in 1955 after allegedly flirting with a white woman in a store four days earlier. Mamie Bradley, his mom (to be played by Danielle Deadwyler), held an open-casket funeral in Chicago. Emmett was deeply disfigured and the shocking photos in Jet magazine galvanized the civil rights movement at the time. The men accused of his murder were deemed “not guilty” by an all-white jury.

The movie, with MGM’s Orion Films involved as the production company and Chinonye Chukwu as the screenwriter, is scheduled to start shooting in Georgia Nov. 8 and will conclude April 22, 2022. That long shoot schedule indicates a healthy budget.

Goldberg won an Oscar for her supporting role in the 1990 film “Ghost.”

About the Author

Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.

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