as star tyler perry six hundred and thirty-eight Reuniting on the red carpet for the upcoming Netflix war movie’s Los Angeles premiere, rapper Big Sean revealed a special connection to the story – Kerry Washington, who played the real-life title character Charity Adams, She was the commander of the 6888th Central Command Post Directory Battalion during World War II and the highest-ranking African American woman in the military at the time. Big Sean’s grandmother was one of 855 soldiers who served in the only colored women’s regiment during the battle.
“I told Tyler Perry how grateful I was because this is such an important part of American history and Black history that has been overlooked,” Big Sean told hollywood reporter When he walked the red carpet with his mother, both held framed photos of their grandmothers. “The 6888th Battalion connected millions of people with more than 17 million emails and no other way to communicate with their families and get information about their loved ones. They fought their own war as strong black women during apartheid and fought for themselves country to fight for.
“I’m so proud of them,” Big Sean added. “Not just my grandma, I’m proud of all of them. I’m grateful to have been raised by such strong black women who are ingrained in my DNA.” , it was a super exciting night.
Emotions are indeed high for most of the new-faced stars of the film, e.g. SistasEbony Obsidian stars as Lena Derriecott King, a member of the camp who had the opportunity to meet her on her 100th birthday on January 27, 2023. King died on January 18 this year, just before her 101st birthday.
“She was a lady,” Obsidian told THR. “She’s poised, eloquent and perceptive for her wisdom and age. She’s not what we imagine when we think of her age, but that speaks volumes about how much she’s seen and endured How much, and how much she still has to share with the world, is what this movie is about.
King’s story served as Perry’s jumping-off point when he began writing the screenplay for the film, which he also directed after being introduced to the story of 6888 through a great segment by Nicole Avant of this movie. Avante is the wife of Netflix co-executive Ted Sarandos.
“The script took two weeks to write, and that’s because when I sat down with Lena Kim, I immediately flew to Vegas to meet her. She’s 99 years old, and I didn’t know what to expect, but she was sane. , clear-headed, she sat next to me and told me this story about her and Abram, and I thought, ‘That’s the way to go,’ and we went from there,” Perry told THR. “Once I got all the information, the story just flowed out of me.”
Washington also had the chance to chat with King via Zoom, a full-circle moment for the actress, who previously dressed up as a war hero in her Black History Month social media series “Black Her Story,” when she even Didn’t know the movie was coming out. It was her photo that caught Perry’s attention and caused him to send her the same hissing scroll that Avant had sent him.
“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I know these women and I want to make this movie,'” Washington said of her reaction to the footage. “Playing Charity Adams has been the honor of a lifetime, so I’m really, really grateful that Taylor even thought of me for this role and that he reached out to me and believed in me to carry on her legacy. I feel very, very honored. .and then being involved as an executive producer and being able to support in other ways and bring some other forces to bear on the mission was really cool.
Perry has long played a major role in Washington’s journey, and this week Washington just received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the company of the filmmaker.
“Tyler Perry has been a godsend to my career,” Washington shared. “when for colored girls When I came, I had really finished the performance. I was like, ‘I think I’m done. I thought there was nothing left of me. He was like, “Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh.” He’s really special and he’s an incredible collaborator and a great director.
“Without him, I wouldn’t have given such a great performance in this movie, and I’m very proud of my performance,” the star continued. “He wanted to make sure, and we wanted to make sure, that when people watch this movie, they don’t think of any other iconic role that I could have played. He really pushed me to do it with my voice, my gestures, everything. Something I’ve never done before and I’m so grateful to him for that. He’s also my friend and most importantly, I cherish his friendship.
six hundred and thirty-eight Premieres on Netflix on December 20th.