12/22/2023
Angela Bassett recalled meeting Tina Turner for the first time so the singer could see for herself who would be playing her in "What's Love Got to Do with It" (1993); when Tina appeared, she walked up to Angela, looked her up and down, smiled, and said out loud, "She's perfect!" Laurence Fishburne must have agreed; he turned down the role of Ike Turner five times. When he learned that Bassett had won the role of Turner, he changed his mind.
Bassett was chosen only a month before production of the film was scheduled to begin. During that time, she had to learn not only how to talk like Turner but to dance and move like her. She would have been willing to try to do the singing as well, but ''not in the time we had,'' she said. ''I did think about it for a second, though.'' Instead, she lipsynced to soundtracks recorded by Turner and Fishburne. Bassett worked with Tina, but only ''a little bit.'' Turner helped most with the re-creations of her famed dance routines, and also re-recorded new versions of all the songs used in the film.
Did you know Halle Berry, Robin Givens, Pam Grier, Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson and Vanessa L. Williams were all considered for this iconic lead role? Whitney Houston was actually offered the role, but had to decline due to imminent maternity. Jenifer Lewis also originally auditioned to play Tina but was cast instead as Tina's mother despite being only a year older than Bassett.
Turner would go on to state that she wished the film had not portrayed her as a "victim." In 2018, she told Oprah Winfrey that she had only recently watched the film. She said, "I watched a little bit of it, but I didn't finish it because that was not how things went.. I didn't realize they would change the details so much."
When Bassett was named one of Time's 100 most influential people in 2023, Turner wrote of Bassett's portrayal of her in "What's Love Got to Do With It": "Angela, the first time we met, you didn't look, sound, or move like me—that came later after you worked so hard to make it happen. But even then, I could see that the young woman standing before me had strength, determination, and big, big dreams, just like me. 'She's perfect,' I said, and I was right. You never mimicked me. Instead, you reached deep into your soul, found your inner Tina, and showed her to the world." (IMDb/Wikipedia)
Happy Birthday, Tina Turner (to the left, with Bassett to th right)!
