Lee Daniels’ The United States Vs. Billie Holiday has been officially acquired by HULU and they are giving audiences a sneak peak with the newly released trailer. The pic is still set to drop on the streamer February 26 – just in time for award season consideration – as the films original distributor, Paramount, wanted.
Now a Hulu original, the Lee Daniels directed and Susan Lori-Parks written film hails a star studded cast. R&B singer Andra Day stars as Billie Holiday herself alongside Travanté Rhodes (Moonlight), Natasha Lyonne (Orange is the New Black), Tone Bell (The Weekend), Da’Vine Joy Randolph (Dolemite is My Name), Evan Ross (ATL), Miss Lawrence (Fashion Queens), Tyler James Williams (Everybody Hates Chris), Rob Morgan (Just Mercy), Erik LaRay Harvey (Marvel’s Luke Cage), and Rob Morgan (Tron: Legacy). Producing the pic are Daniels, Pamela Oas Williams, Jordan Fudge, Tucker Tooley, Joe Roth and Jeff Kirschenbaum. Executive producing are Hilary Shor, Jeremy Allen, Patty Long, Johann Hari, Cassian Elwes, Mark Bomback and Dennis Stratton. New Slate Ventures, Lee Daniels Entertainment and Roth Kirschenbaum Films are responsible for the project.
Set in 1940’s New York City, the trailer shows Holiday’s determination to sing her controversial song “Strange Fruit”, which the FBI tried to prevent by targeting her drug addiction and racialize the war on drugs. Holiday’s song on racial oppression in America would ultimately to be a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement.
Andra Day is an American singer and songwriter whose 2015 hit single “Rise Up” reached the No. 10 spot on Billboard’s Hot R&B Songs. The song went on to earn Day The Soul Train Ashford & Simpson Songwriting award and Grammy nominations for Best R&B Album and Best Performance. She has also won Billboard’s Women in Music Powerhouse award. Other nominations include; BET’s Best New Artist award, CMT Performance of the Year award, and the NAACP Best New Artist award. Keep scrolling to view the official trailer for The United States Vs. Billie Holiday.
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