Jill Scott is set to portray the Gospel queen, Mahalia Jackson, in an upcoming biopic executive produced by Jamie Foxx and Queen Latifah.
The movie is based on the novel Mahalia Jackson by Darlene Donloe.
Gospel wasn’t popular during a certain era and has evolved over the years. Jackson came from poverty in New Orleans to becoming a platinum-selling artist.
The singer is known to have inspired Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech, and be an important part of John F. Kennedy’s campaign. Harry Belafonte once described Jackson as “the single most powerful Black woman in the United States.”
Lifetime is already developing a movie about Mahalia Jackson. However, Mahalia! has secured the rights to Jackson’s entire musical catalog of hits including “How I Got Over,” “His Eyes Are on the Sparrow,” “Move on Up a Little Higher,” “Amazing Grace” and “Go Tell It On the Mountain.”
“This is such an incredibly important story to tell and we’re thrilled to work with Jamie on the project. Shakim and I are also looking forward to reteaming with our Clark Sisters producing partner, Holly Carter, to share Mahalia’s inspiring journey to becoming the Queen of Gospel music,” says Latifah.
