Kenny Leon and Danielle Brooks Keep the Faith with Lifetime's "Mahalia"

Within seven weeks Tanya Lopez executive vice president movies limited series and original movie acquisitions for Lifetime and LMN and Good Morning America anchor Robin Roberts called The result is Robin Roberts Presents Mahalia premiering on Lifetime Saturday April 3 Leon had directed Steel Magnolias for Lifetime and was happy to return to the network providing quotit was a story I feel that attached toquot he explainedIt39s not just directing this and acting in a cameo that attached Leon to the project Rather his is an ironclad attachment forged over a lifetimequotI chalk it up to divine inspirationquot Leon said during an exclusive interview with MediaVillageWhen Leon called his mother to tell her about the offer he admitted he wasn39t positive about taking it because he had quota couple of other projects bouncing around My mother said 39You can do whatever you want to do but you cannot say no to the Mahalia Jackson story39quotLike many people of true faith Leon neither proselytized nor preached about why he was the right person to make this movie Instead he talked comfortably about itquotIn the business of entertainment you have to have your confidence and your spiritual centerquot Leon noted quotGod was saying 39Okay you need to focus on this particular story and I need you to tell this particular story39 And so often I find myself wondering who is telling this story and why And you get someone who grew up Southern and Christian and Black and sometimes the right person doesn39t wind up with the right story to tell I feel I was called to tell an authentic story about this Southern woman who was on this spiritual journey who America got to knowquotSince we were going through the pandemic of 2020 what better lens to look at it than a woman who had lived through the pandemic of 1918 and World War I and World War II and had become a confidant to Dr Kingquot Leon continued quotAnd here is this spiritual Southern boy looking at that and how much faith she must have had to live the life she lived I thought viewers would look at this now and say 39Wait a minute We are not the first people to wear a mask in America We are not the first to go through a hardship39quotLeon begins the biopic with Jackson as a girl in 1923 and ends it a year before her death in 1971 With both scenes folks are drawn to her singing as if pulled by a force unseen It is though heard It takes someone with Danielle Brooks39 powerful voice to accomplish thisBrooks pictured above the daughter of a mom very active in church pulls this contralto from deep within her When she sings Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child and Precious Lord Take My Hand it is clear she is not alone on that stage When Brooks closes her eyes opens her mouth and lets her voice soar she is powered by a greater forcequotMahalia stood firm on her faith with Godquot Brooks said during a recent Television Critics Association press panel quotI39ve had to do the same thing through my journey I think that39s why I was so connected to who she was because I also grew up in the church and I also had to lean on God when I felt like I couldn39t do things This was definitely one of those moments when I didn39t know how the story was going to get told where the story was going to get told But I had to trust what was told to me in my spirit What was given to me was that I was supposed to play Mahalia Jackson I had to trust thatquotJackson turns to this man and says quotAnd David said 39Make a joyful noise unto the Lord39 Don39t you read your biblequotShortly after Jackson takes lessons with a music professor Leon who tries to slow her down Leon almost didn39t get a chance to do his cameo in his own movie because his papers to act in Canada where they shot had not arrived Then like all else with this production everything fell together more proof this was meant to beThe film shows Jackson as a fully realized woman who suffered heartbreak and surmounted hurdles Along the way there were two husbands and one reverend the true love of her life She was a devoted friend including to the Rev Martin Luther King Jr who reveals his vulnerability to her Whether singing at King39s funeral the Newport Jazz Festival or a storefront church Jackson delivered a spectacular performance one that as Leon39s mother says came from her gutquotWhen we shot the first song My God Is Real I remember people in that church there were a lot of people of different faiths when she sang livequot Leon recalled quotPeople were crying People out doing their jobs they clapped We had a church of many faiths right there When it was over all you could do was cry shout and scream I said 39Okay Danielle we will not disappoint mothers39quotRobin Roberts Presents Mahalia will be telecast Saturday April 3 at 8 pm on LifetimeClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Kenny Leon and Danielle Brooks Keep the Faith with Lifetime's "Mahalia"

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Kenny Leon and Danielle Brooks Keep the Faith with Lifetime's "Mahalia"

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