why had you written to alice walker? well, because i thought the book was magnificent.movie, i would like to play dirt "on the floor," and she's like, "0k!" she wrote to quinchones and wrote to steven spielberg and wrote back to me saying, you know, "they may be making a movie, i'll keep you posted." and she had already sent it all to steven, because alice walker lived in berkeley and she had seen my show. she'd come to see the show? she'd come and seen my show. but you had no idea. no! you know, because you don't really meet the audience necessarily, unless they come and say, "hello, i am so—and—so." so you arrive at steven spielberg's private theatre, expecting just to entertain him. did you realise that this was an audition? no, nor did i realise he had other people sitting in the audience at the same time, you know? and he didn't tell me, which i'm ever gratefulfor, but i'm standing behind this curtain and i never look. i generally don't care. but ijust was curious, cos i could hear people talking and i kind of looked through the curtain. i'm thinking, "oh, my god —

pave the way for younger black writers such as alice walker and toni morrison.hings i want to ask about from 1937 another 30 plus years before it became impactful; is that a correct statement? >> guest: that is correct and the point is why did it take 30 years. and something in what you read is important. black people, especially bus drivers, those that are getting educations, wanting to break out of our jim crow system. let's not forget that these black towns emerged after the consolidation of american apartheid. american society had restricted black people from living close to whites. they lived in restricted areas in the big cities. they lived in restct areas in rural areas. and so, this shaped american culture and american socty as well. and so their eyes are watching god goes inside of one of the communities and what you see there is a wholesome community. you see black people and families, you see a novel about black love. a novel about striving for a better life, and i think the novel became, for me i know i can speak more directly about what is mea for m

pave the way for younger black writers such as alice walker and toni morrison.hings i want to ask about from 1937 another 30 plus years before it became impactful; is that a correct statement? >> guest: that is correct and the point is why did it take 30 years. and something in what you read is important. black people, especially bus drivers, those that are getting educations, wanting to break out of our jim crow system. let's not forget that these black towns emerged after the consolidation of american apartheid. american society had restricted black people from living close to whites. they lived in restricted areas in the big cities. th lived in restricted areas in rural are and so, this shaped american culture and american society as well. and so their eyes are watching god goes inside of one of the communities and what you see there is a wholesome community. you see black people and families, you see a novel about black love. a novel about striving for a better life, and i think the novel became, for me i know i can speak more directly about what is meant fo

the film is based on alice walker's 1982 novel that follows the life and struggles of black women.t's produced by oprah who starred in the original steven speels bank of america directed film. >> there's not more vital to me culturally, statistically than "the color purple. "it's a solid base of spiritual and emotional power for me. every woman and man who has been invisible, who has felt unseen and unvalued, this is their story. >> just incredible. the film is the director of warner brothers. it comes out on christmas day. we want to talk all about that. thank you so much for joining us. tell us, why do you think this movie still resonates 40 years later? >> "the color purple" is a timeness film, a story of overcoming trauma, the ponds of sisterhood, enduring family love, resilience, all things that resonate within the blake community. they see themselves whether it's assyria or sophia. it's so inspiring for a lot of audiences. >> the executive producer scott daniels talked about the decision to adapt the film into a musical and his goal is to reach a new generation that may not b

it began with alice walker's pulitzer prize-winning novel that get the new treatment. this highly anticipated film version by warner bros. discovery, which is the parent company of cnn, stephanie elam has more. >> reporter: the color purple is back. but with a refresh. >> it is not a remake. it invites the older generation but invites the younger generation.>> suffering is the great equalizer. >> reporter: based on the novel of the same name, the color purple tells the story of a poor black woman in the early 1900s who finds self-worth healing and happiness by devastating odds with the help of the women around her. steven spielberg directed the first iteration of it for warner bros., which shares the same parent company as seen in. it has a star-studded cast including oprah winfrey, danny glover, and whoopi goldberg. in the early 2000's the color purple hit the great white way and was revived in 2015. this film adaptation, taking a cue from broadway, is a musical. it emphasizes the message of hope more than the original film. >> i would have to say there's of buoyancy

taraji actually said, alice walker wrote us black shakespeare. and we all know that shakespeare gets reinterpreted all the time. >> reinterpreted, refreshed, and still resonating worldwide. stephanie elam, cnn, los angeles. >> can't wait to see it. >>> all right, still to come, all of these teens want for christmas is a trip to the post-season. so who rose to the occasion on a special saturday of football. we'll run through all the action. >>> the buffalo bills rallied to beat the l.a. chargesers in the final seconds. >> the bills got big game from their star quarterback. >> you could argue that the bills season was all but over when december started. but after back-to-back begins against a couple super bowl contenders, buffalo is rolling at this time of year, making matters even worse for the rest of the league. their star quarterback, josh allen, also looks like he's starting to rediscover that mvp form, just in time for the playoffs. allen had three total touchdowns against l.a., two on the ground, and that 57-yard pass to gabe davis to score

and there is a power in alice walker's -- and i'm just thankful to be a part of.>> you know, when i was reading on your bio, juilliard. >> juilliard-trained. >> as a young kid, when did you make, like, this is what i want to do? and then decide to go to juilliard? >> it was a long journey to get their. but again, you never know what god has in store for you, in life. but that journey, i mean, it started with being inspired by my mother. my grandmother. black women in my household. like debbie allen, when i was a kid, it came to d.c. -- >> debbie allen inspired you? >> yeah, she was like an anti to all of us -- young artists -- just reminding us that anything is possible. and had i not had that, i would not be sitting here in this moment. >> it's funny you say that. >> it's real, it's true. >> no, it's funny you say that. >> why is it funny that he said? that >> no, because when we are -- we've >> got a surprise for you, corey hawkins. roll tape, please. >> -- surprise surprise, corey. it's debbie allen, one of your first mentors, when you were seven years old, at

traji actually said alice walker wrote us black shakespeare. we all know that shakespeare gets reinterpreted all the time. >> reporter: reinterpreted, refreshed and still resonating worldwide. ♪ oh, yes, i am ♪ >> reporter: stephanie elam, cnn, los angeles. >>> and coming up, the christmas powerball jackpot climbing to $638 million. your chances of winning that major holiday gift, we will talk about that and, yes, even pandas love christmas presents, how the animals at one zoo in france are cecelebrating.g. you're l live in thehe "cnn nenewsroom." >>> this could be a very merry christmas were one lottery player. the powerball jackpot is $638 million just in time for tomorrow night's christmas drawing. only three players in the past have won the powerball jackpot on christmas day. the estimated cash value of monday night's grand prize is more than $321 million. if i win, you'll never see me again. >>> moving on, christmas came early for some animals at a zoo in france this weekend. the famous chinese pandas tore into boxes to find their favorite

you're right, with alice walker not helping her reputation after walker wrote the color purple and hadood a claim. people did not like the way you are capturing the way black people spoken it, but it is a feminist manifesto, if you read the book it's about women and men in general and how black women have to develop a fierce independent spirit separate from men. in many ways, it's fascinating as a cultural docent, but also it's about women's liberation in its own right. she died broke, had no money, in florida and nobody knew, she said i will die broke, yet her papers are now invaluable, and she has been embraced in florida wholeheartedly as one of the great figures. people will make the assumption that a black woman writing about african-american state of the south, but she was not a liberal , she was not an fdr person, she voted republican. and believed in a lot of self-reliance and a bit of a libertarian side going on with her as well. you don't want to put these people in boxes, there is a full of intellectual great merit. >> and there was distrust of fdr and truman. she was vocal

the latest film adaptation of the alice walker novel surpassed box office expectations bringing in $18lion on the holiday. it's the biggest christmas day opening in 14 years and the second biggest december 25th opening ever. >>> up next, honoring some of the biggest stars in the arts. a preview of tonight's "kennedy center honors" here on cbs. on c. to duckduckgo on all your devie duckduckgo comes with a built-n engine like google, but it's pi and doesn't spy on your searchs and duckduckgo lets you browse like chrome, but it blocks cooi and creepy ads that follow youa from google and other companie. and there's no catch. it's fre. we make money from ads, but they don't follow you aroud join the millions of people taking back their privacy by downloading duckduckgo on all your devices today. when moderate to severe ulcerative colitis takes you off course. put it in check with rinvoq, a once-daily pill. when i wanted to see results fast, rinvoq delivered rapid symptom relief and helped leave bathroom urgency behind. check. when uc tried to slow me down... i got lasting, steroid-free remi

anti-semitism, what was the most highly attended movie this weekend, the color purple, written by alice walkerbigoted anti-se anti-systesemite, said terrible things about the jews and never apologized. can you imagine, a great book writer was trying to get a movie produced, the double standard is rampant just because you are black and an author or black and a scholar does not give you been to become anti-semitic, we cannot allow this this is to mainstream in america. david: this is changing -- there is push back. we had the university of wisconsin kur cutback on the dei programs, they had as many deei programmers than members of history department. it is like a industry now, there is push back, but seeps tha seems that at harvard the woke crowd has a fortress up that now one can get through. >> harvard has a history of never apologizing, never saying we're wrong, we're harvard, if we say it, we must be right, and the rest of the universe should follow us, that is the problem with harvard and faculty, they follow like lemmings, they don't come up with independent criticism or ideas, and harvard

the film is based on alice walker's 1982 novel, and follows the lives and struggles of black women in it's produced by oprah winfrey who starred in the original steven spielberg directed film. >> there's nothing that's been more important or vital to me, culturally, artistically, than the color purple. it is a solid base of spiritual and emotional power for me. >> the reboot is a production of warner brothers pictures, which like cnn is part of warner brothers discovery. it opens on christmas day. we are so happy to be joined this morning to talk about the legacy of the color purple and returning to the big screen and why it resonates with writer, comedian, and actress amber ruffin. you say this is a love letter to black women. what does it mean to have it back on the big screen? >> i absolutely adore the color purrle. and i remember watching it when i was young and realizing that, you know, entertainment had a huge space that black women could fill, and we're still discovering the many ways that black women can contribute. and it's amazing, like this late in the game, what entertainm

. >> taraji: first of all, the great alice walker won up pulitzer prize for the book.an culture. it's not just a movie about black people. it's a movie about humanity. it's a movie about eople who have -- who don't have a voice and finding their voice in life. people who have been traum traumatized, who feel like they can't get out and how they work their ways out of their trauma. it's about sisterhood. it's about redemption, forgiveness. [applause] i mean, it's just a great american story in my opinion. i you have a heart beat, you'll identify with it. transcends color, race, religion. it's a story about humanity. it's a beautiful story. >> stephen: your husband in this movie is played by our dear friend jon batiste. >> taraji: he is so, he is so good in this film. >> stephen: i just wish he brought joy and energy products. >> taraji: i know, he has such a debbie downer. >> stephen: how did you like cane out with him? >> taraji: he's incredible. i had a great time with him. he sings a lot. >> stephen: he will sing things that are songs. he will just go ♪ coffee cup ♪

i have always been a fan of the color purple from alice walker's pulitzer prize winning novel, too, willberg in steven spielberg's original movie to the 2005 stage musical adaptation. now the movie version of the musical. brings together all of the best part of all of the previous incarnations into one jubilant, bittersweet story of survival triumph over incredible cruelty and paint. incredible performances about with former american idol star fantasia and danielle brooks uprising. their roles from the broadway production as seeley and sophia respectively, each breathing so many layers of mystery and majesty that you can't help being moved by it all. draw gb, we mostly know from dramatic roles, knocks it out of the park singing and dancing in the role of the much desired singer the over the top, but painfully empathetic showed avery. >> colman domingo holds a master class acting as the despicable mister corey hawkins fills out the bill as his son harpo the characters are well drawn more flushed out by director blitz brilliant yours are getting choreography and the overriding theme of hop

i have always been a fan of the color purple from alice walker's pulitzer prize winning novel, too, will be goldberg in steven spielberg's original movie to the 2005 stage musical adaptation. now the movie version of the musical. brings together all of the best part of all of the previous incarnations into one jubilant, bittersweet story of survival triumph over incredible cruelty and paint. incredible performances about with former american idol star fantasia and danielle brooks uprising. their roles from the broadway production as seeley and sophia respectively, each breathing so many layers of mystery and majesty that you can't help being moved by it all. draw gb, we mostly know dramatic roles, knocks it out of the park singing and dancing in the role of the much desired singer the over the top, but painfully empathetic showed avery. >> colman domingo holds a master class acting as the despicable mister corey hawkins fills out the bill as his son harpo the characters are well drawn and more flushed out by director blitz brilliant yours are getting choreography and the overriding theme

alice walker, the great rider basically resurrected her and her reputation. >> on that, kirsten's interestingmerican figure. she was born in the south. came north, educated elsewhere and started doing ethnography and anthropological studies. she wrote really well and had a very good listening ear. before long she started in the late 1920's she was collecting folk stories or folktales. you can capture black culture in the south. a lot of the times, what was going on in a black community and she took on issues of racism in the south and the research. she did not evolve from a full collector. her first book, i think it is called men,, and mules. it was folk compendiums. by the time that she writes her novel, it really is an important book. because on dialect, it is tricky. without her helping her reputation after walker wrote the color purple which had great acclaim. people did not like the way that you are trying to capture the way that black people speak and it. it is a feminist manifesto if you read the book. it is about women and men and how black women have to develop a fierce independent s

what was the most highly attended movie, "the color purple," alice walker virulent antisemite said terriblews like kanye west. unlike kanye west whose note apologized. she is one of the wealthiest authors in america. call an imagine somebody anti-black a great book writer, great movie writer, is trying to get a movie produced today. the double standard is rampant just because you're black and a author. just because you're black and a scholar doesn't give you a license to be anti-semitic. we cannot allow this double standard. it is becoming pervasive and mainstream through america. david: excuse me for one second, it is changing, it is changing, there is pushback. i mean we had the university of wisconsin cut back on its dei programing. by the way they had as many dei programmers, if you can use that phrase than they did members of the history department, so just a huge, it's like an industry now, dei, all these woke people that they have enforcing these principles that they have. so there is pushback but, it just seems like harvard is impenetrable. that the woke crowd has a fortress up that

playing in this latest adaptation of alice walker's seminal work the color purple, which will be in theatersng charles cory. can i say i wore purple in your honor today. >> oh come on, now it's an honor to be here with you two legends. in talking about this beautiful work. thank you for the beautiful portable by the way. >> well yes, that's our color. but really, we are so glad that you're here. charles said the color purple, the original. >> you said that was your favorite movie. it's up there with my favorite movies. did you feel added pressure the cause. when something is done in perfection like the first color purple, then you're doing this adaptation, or remake however you want to phrase. >> yeah, especially in our community. to >> cory before you came, said i don't know why you have to redo, and he said why do they have to redo it if it ain't broke don't fix. >> so yeah to that we say, bring yourself to the film. because, this version of the color purple is as oprah says, it ain't your mama's color purple. it's a beautiful reimagining. it's not a remake of the color purple. so that's w

definitive book, behind-the-scenes stories of how the movie was made the way the book was done -- alice walkerurple," and you do, audience, you do [ cheers and applause >> seth: and you do. you've got a sweatshirt here for us >> okay. this i love. those of us who have children. so, you have the original. this is the con. >> seth: yeah. >> have you guys seen this okay "encore," for your child i like this. okay "remix." >> seth: that's great. [ laughter ] >> isn't this good >> seth: these are very good >> i love this "mic drop. [ laughter ] very cute. confashions. this is my favorite one. "a fresh new beat" when you have the baby isn't this nice? >> seth: that's very good sweatshirt >> normally, i bring you matching pajamas, so i tried to change it up this year >> seth: i'll take it. we're very excited about that. by the way, we do wear matching pajamas every year so we -- and now we have these cookies as well. >> who doesn't -- who doesn't like to have matching pajamas in a family photo we have some of those too. >> seth: yes, we do. holidays - >> these are christmas and hanukkah cookies >> set

thank you, alice walker.s been 24 years since my last time on the stage in front of this podium, and since then, as levar stated, between 2021 and 2022, the american library association saw 70% increase in requests to ban books from public schools and libraries and it's looking like this year is going to be even worse, early date east data shows us the number has already risen by 20%. so over 70 5% of those books banned were specifically written for younger readers. 41% had lgbtq themes or characters and 40% had a main or secondary character of color. so who exactly is trying to keep these books off the shelves? this september 62% of -- banning books is a waste of time. meanwhile, there's been dozens and dozens of bomb threats against libraries. tracy hall the former director of the american library association, hello, tracy. says that at least 10 of last year's threats were verified in almost every case have been linked to someone who was disgruntled about the right to read. amanda jones, a louisiana school

thank you, alice walker. it has been 24 years since my last time on this stage in front of the podium, and since then, as levar stated, between 2021 and 2022, the american library association saw a 70% increase in requests to banned books from public schools and libraries, and it looks like this year is going to be even worse. early data shows us that number has already risen by 20%, so over 75% of those books banned were specifically written for younger readers. 41% had lgbtq themes are characters, and 40% had a mean or secondary character of color, so who exactly is trying to keep these books off the shelves? it is not the majority of parents. this september, 67% of parents surveyed by every library institute agreed that banning books is a waste of time. meanwhile, there has been dozens of dozens of dozens of bomb threats against libraries. at least 10 of last year's threats were verified and almost every case had been linked to somebody who was disgruntled about the right to read. amanda jones, a louisiana

domestic product, gdp. 20% of the israeli walkers are a part of the reserve army and they are not functioning. in this edition of economic divide, we have special guest aliceo says the bigger problem needs to be solved. so the root causes of this crisis are the ongoing occupation of the occupied territories and the siege of gaza. crisis devastating wars, terrorism, the israeli lobby, crackdown, diplomacy. genocide case against israel, make sure to join the show through facebook, twitter, only on press tv. pricv headlines this hour, more than 21,600 palestinians have been killed in 85 days of israel on gaza with resistance fighters launching deadly retaliatory attacks. yemen's foreign minister says that his country will keep