‘The Rose’: Cynthia Erivo’s Remake Taps Into Tina Turner and Florence Welch
The Rose is a musical drama that went on to be nominated for four Academy Awards. The 1979 film earned Bette Midler her first Oscar nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role. The story follows Rose (Bette Midler), who is a 1960s rock star. It explores her hardships in the form of career pressures and demands from her manager. As a result, she walks down a road of self-destruction. Searchlight Pictures is making a remake of the drama, which includes the involvement of Cynthia Erivo (Genius) in the lead role. However, there hasn’t been any news regarding a writer or director quite yet.
Cynthia Erivo sought Bette Midler’s blessing
During an interview with Variety, Erivo talked about the upcoming remake. When Searchlight Pictures expressed interest in bringing her onto the project, she reached out to Midler for her blessing. “I guess I was just searching for a blessing, and I got exactly what I wanted,” Erivo expressed. “And she was wonderful and really lovely, and she said some really lovely things.”
The Rose is a significant movie for Midler’s career. Not only did it award her an Oscar nomination, but her song titled after the name of the movie went on to become a huge success. It remains to be one of the biggest hits of her career. Midler’s performance is very closely associated with the film. Hopefully, Erivo will be able to bring her own style to the character. Otherwise, she has some fairly large shoes to fill.
Cynthia Erivo’s Rose is inspired by Tina Turner and Florence Welch
The Rose is a loose adaptation of Janis Joplin’s life, which was originally titled Pearl. Joplin’s family refused to give the filmmakers rights to her story, so they changed the title to The Rose. Midler’s iconic performance will continue to live on, even with the upcoming remake. However, Erivo has the opportunity to interpret the role in other ways that could potentially be highly impactful.
Erivo already has an idea of how she’d like to approach the role. “Right now, my brain is saying as if Tina Turner and Florence Welch had a baby,” she stated. “That’s sort of how I see my Rose.” This is a fascinating combination of legendary musicians that could bring another side to the role.
Cynthia Erivo is more than a talented actor
The actor is talented in the art of music, as well. Erivo received two Oscar nominations in 2020 for her performance and original song in Harriet. She has also won an Emmy Award, a Grammy Award, and a Tony Award. Her performance as Aretha Franklin in Genius earned her an Emmy Award nomination. Some audiences have pondered the question: is Erivo singing in Genius: Aretha? The answer is yes, she sings her own songs.
Erivo has proven herself to be a marvelous talent in acting, singing, and songwriting. She also rightfully received attention for her performance as Holly Gibney in HBO’s The Outsider. Audiences will have to wait to see how Erivo’s interpretation of the character makes it to the silver screen. However, it’s likely a safe bet that Erivo will also be singing her own songs in The Rose.
