Tory Kittles, Oliver Platt Added To Queen Latifah’s Bessie Smith FilmPosted by Wilson Morales
July 1, 2014
Source: THR
True Detective’s Tory Kittles, along with Fargo’s Oliver Platt and How to Make It in America’s Bryan Greenberg have joined the cast of ‘Bessie,’ HBO’s film about Bessie Smith, with Queen Latifah starring as the iconic blues singer, reports The Hollywood Reporter.
Directed by Dee Rees, the film will be based on the life story of Smith, the project chronicles how Smith overcame her tempestuous personal life to become one of the most acclaimed performing and recording artists of the 1920s and ’30s, earning the nickname Empress of the Blues.
The site states that Kittles will portray Bessie’s brother Clarence, Platt will play famed photographer and writer Carl Van Vechten and Greenberg is set as renowned record producer and music critic John Hammond.
They join a cast that includes Mo’Nique as famed singer Ma Rainey, Michael K. Williams as Bessie’s husband Jack Gee, Mike Epps as Richard; Khandi Alexander as Viola; Tika Sumpter as Lucille and Charles S. Dutton as William “Pa” Rainey.
Latifah will executive produce the HBO Films and Zanuck Co. movie via her Flavor Unit Entertainment banner. Lili Fini Zanuck, Richard Zanuck, Shakim Compere, Shelby Stone and Randi Michel will also exec produce. Hallie Foote is on board to co-exec produce and Ron Schmidt will produce.
Kittles’ film credits include Olympus Has Fallen, The Kill Hole, The Sapphires, and Get Rich or Die Tryin’, while his TV projects include stints of HBO’s True Detective and FX’s Sons of Anarchy.
