The Oscars love to honor actors who transform themselves to play biographical roles, so it’s no surprise that several nominations and wins have gone to actors playing real-life musicians given the extra degree of difficulty of performing as an artist in a different discipline. But does it pay to do your own singing? You’d think it would be an advantage to show voters the impressive breadth of your talent. However, recent history shows that whether you’re singing isn’t usually a decisive factor.
SEELeslie Odom Jr. (‘One Night in Miami’): Dual Oscar nominations ‘speak to positive changes in the industry’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
This year three actors are nominated for biographical music roles: Viola Davis (Best Actress as blues singer Ma Rainey in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”), Andra Day (Best Actress as jazz legend Billie Holiday in “The United States vs. Billie Holiday”), and Leslie Odom Jr. (Best Supporting...
SEELeslie Odom Jr. (‘One Night in Miami’): Dual Oscar nominations ‘speak to positive changes in the industry’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
This year three actors are nominated for biographical music roles: Viola Davis (Best Actress as blues singer Ma Rainey in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”), Andra Day (Best Actress as jazz legend Billie Holiday in “The United States vs. Billie Holiday”), and Leslie Odom Jr. (Best Supporting...
- 4/23/2021
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
Viola Davis transforms into the Mother of the Blues for her award-winning role in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” — and while she delivers a powerhouse performance, former Ikette and soul singer Maxayn Lewis is the unsung hero of the film.
It’s her voice that catapults Davis into a new realm. While it is Davis’ voice who belts out “These Dogs of Mine,” Lewis performs the rest of the numbers.
In an interview with Variety, Lewis explains how she came to sing in the Oscar-nominated film and got to lip-sync for Viola Davis.
How did you get to sing for Viola Davis in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom?”
I’ve been working in the music industry for a long time and I’ve been recording with different people for years. I’ve done background and done vocals for different projects.
Someone I’ve worked with gave “Ma Rainey” composer Branford Marsalis my...
It’s her voice that catapults Davis into a new realm. While it is Davis’ voice who belts out “These Dogs of Mine,” Lewis performs the rest of the numbers.
In an interview with Variety, Lewis explains how she came to sing in the Oscar-nominated film and got to lip-sync for Viola Davis.
How did you get to sing for Viola Davis in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom?”
I’ve been working in the music industry for a long time and I’ve been recording with different people for years. I’ve done background and done vocals for different projects.
Someone I’ve worked with gave “Ma Rainey” composer Branford Marsalis my...
- 4/20/2021
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
In 2012, Viola Davis came so close to following in Halle Berry’s footsteps as the second Black Best Actress Academy Award winner for “The Help” (2012), but ultimately fell to “The Iron Lady’s” Meryl Streep. The actress did, however, win Best Supporting Actress in 2017 for the film version of the August Wilson play “Fences.” And this year, she could finally bag Best Actress for playing the title character in another Wilson adaptation, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”
Directed by George C. Wolfe and written by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, the Netflix release chronicles a chaotic recording session of Ma Rainey‘s album in 1927 Chicago. As the so-called “Mother of the Blues,” Davis appears like we’ve never seen her before: her face caked in greasy-looking makeup, her body shimmering in sweat, wearing gold prosthetic teeth and body padding (on top of the weight Davis herself gained). The actress fully and believably becomes Ma,...
Directed by George C. Wolfe and written by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, the Netflix release chronicles a chaotic recording session of Ma Rainey‘s album in 1927 Chicago. As the so-called “Mother of the Blues,” Davis appears like we’ve never seen her before: her face caked in greasy-looking makeup, her body shimmering in sweat, wearing gold prosthetic teeth and body padding (on top of the weight Davis herself gained). The actress fully and believably becomes Ma,...
- 2/15/2021
- by Luca Giliberti
- Gold Derby
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