Jill Scott To Play Mahalia Jackson In Big Screen Version With Jamie Foxx, Queen Latifah & Holly Carter Exec Producing

Deadline is reporting that Grammy award winning Black Lightning and Why Did I Get Married? actress Jill Scott will play the Queen of Gospel, Mahalia Jackson in a new big screen version, Mahalia!, that’s being executive produced by Jamie Foxx, Queen Latifah and her partner Shakim Compere and Clark Sisters EP  Holly Carter.

Written by Richard Hocutt, Mark Gould and Tricia Woodgett, Mahalia! is based on the novel, Mahalia Jackson, by Darlene Donloe.

During a time when Gospel music was not as mainstream as it is today, Jackson became one of the wealthiest and most powerful entertainers in the world. Known as the mentor and inspiration behind singing sensation Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, Jackson rose from brutal poverty in New Orleans to become a platinum selling artist, and was the first gospel singer to perform at Carnegie Hall and would continue to captivate audiences around the world, including presidents, kings, and queens, until her death in 1972.

Known as the inspiration behind the “I Have A Dream” speech, she was one of the most instrumental voices and ardent supporters of Martin Luther King, Jr., the father of America’s Civil Rights movement, and a driving force behind John F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign, helping him to become the 35th President of the United States. Harry Belafonte once described Ms. Jackson as “the single most powerful Black Woman in the United States” and, unknown to many, she was a formidable activist behind the scenes of some of America’s most influential politicians during one of the most tumultuous periods in our nation’s history, mirroring today’s political and social climate.

Although Lifetime will ALSO be doing a Mahalia Jackson film starring Danielle Brooks, Mahalia! has secured the rights to Jackson’s entire musical catalog of greatest hits including “How I Got Over”, “His Eyes Are on the Sparrow”, “Move on Up a Little Higher”, “Amazing Grace” and “Go Tell It On the Mountain”.

Scott’s credits also include Tate Taylor’s Get on Up, BET’s The First Wives Club and HBO’s The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency.