UNITED KINGDOM: Whoopi Goldberg talks about new stage production of "Sister Act", Barack Obama and Patrick Swayze

Record ID: 473339

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: Whoopi Goldberg talks about new stage production of "Sister Act", Barack Obama and Patrick Swayze
  • Date: 10th April 2009
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE - AUGUST 3, 1998) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF MANN'S CHINESE THEATER WITH FANS ANGELA BASSETT AND WHOOPI GOLDBERG ARRIVING AND SPEAKING TO PRESS GOLDBERG SPEAKING WITH THE MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (English) WHOOPI GOLDBERG, SAYING: "I'm the old broad of the bunch, so i have to watch what i say you know, cause, they're all so much younger
  • Embargoed: 25th April 2009 13:00
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  • Location: United Kingdom
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  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVACJ8XP677ASGUIG54QWCLHTLLJ
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  • Story Text: Whoopi Goldberg talks to Reuters Television about her new stage production of "Sister Act" and why it's time for the world to take political and financial responsibility.
    Whoopi Goldberg is lending her name and years of experience in Hollywood to a theatre production of one of her biggest films "Sister Act" in London.
    The actress recently overcame her fear of flying to make the journey from New York across the Atlantic to the British capital.
    The veteran actress starred in the hugely successful 1992 Disney film "Sister Act" which grossed 231.6 million USD world-wide, according to box office figures website, the-numbers.com. The movie's popularity lead to a returning role for Goldberg in a sequel.
    However, Goldberg warned that the stage production was vastly different from the silver screen version. Instead of reprising the role she made famous, she takes on the job of co-producer, making way for Patina Miller who will play "Deloris Van Cartier".
    None of the music from the movie was given the rights for this film because another "Sister Act" musical is set for release in the United States by Motown. The London version will feature entirely new music and a fresh-faced cast, which is one of the reasons Goldberg said she was happy to jump on board the production.

    "One of the reasons people hate remakes is because you will never find another Lauren Bacall, you will never find a Bette Davis so you can't remake up that make. You can't re-do it but you can do it fresh and new with new people who bring their thing to it. And if people love the story, they'll come and see what the new person has done. So I'm banking on the fact that people love that story and they love the idea that nuns could be made to sing secular music and turn it into hymns," Goldberg told Reuters Television.
    Goldberg retired from acting more than a decade ago because she said she wasn't being offered any good roles. She currently fronts U.S. television talk show "The View" along with four other female presenters. After making her way through the mainly male-dominated stand-up comedian circuit, she found success with Steven Spielberg's "The Color Purple" for which she won a Golden Globe, "Jumpin' Jack Flash", "Made In America" with a young Will Smith, and a regular on the "Star Trek" television series.
    But she said the pressure of trying to remain on top of the Hollywood game was too much, preferring instead to stick to the artistic side of acting.

    "About 12 years ago I said I think I'm done because I don't want to have to worry about my box office I just want to perform. I just want to do the piece and if it's good people will come and if they do the promotion people will come and if it's not their cup of tea they won't. And you can't tell anybody what's going to work and what's not going to work so I don't want that pressure on my head of (makes deep baritone voice) 'My God, we have to make back a billion dollars in order to break even and it's all on you,'"
    she explained.
    Ever the outspoken political activist on Aids awareness and gay rights, Goldberg has never been shy about voicing her opinion but while interested in politics would never campaign for office because she "had to many skeletons in her closet".
    She said the U.S. administration before Barack Obama made some unwise decisions which the rest of the world is having to pay for now.

    "I know people have all their hopes placed on Obama but we must remember that even Jesus was a man. This is a man and he's going to make some mistakes and he's going to do some positive stuff and he's going to stuff we don't like and stuff we love. And as long as we keep that in mind then everything will be all right," she said, adding: "What we have to do now is we have to recognise that since we're all responsible we have to make a big shift. We're going to have to do some things we don't want to do. We're going to have to spend some money that we don't want to spend. But if we want to make it right we got to do it's that simple. And if we want to make it right for everybody, the people who made the mistakes and the people who didn't, we have to make this change. Fortunately, it seems the world has clasped hands and we're jumping together and I love that," she added.
    Goldberg is one of the few actresses to win a Golden Globe, Tony, Emmy and Academy Award. The latter she won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar as the zany but loveable psychic opposite Patrick Swayze in 1990's "Ghost".
    To this day the two remain close friends and she said despite his diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, he shows no signs of slowing down.

    "He (Patrick Swayze) is not paying any attention to that illness.
    That pancreatic cancer is like 'Hey I'm down here' and he's like 'You know what, I'm doing what I got to do.' He's got a TV show, a new TV show, and he's leaping over things and driving fast. He's not paying attention to it. Some days are harder than others because there are treatments he's got to do but there's no expiration date on his behind, just like there's no expiration date on any of us. We all know we're going to die but none of us know when. Nothing has changed for Patrick," she said.
    When asked whether she would follow in the footsteps of her fellow American celebrities Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow and move to London, Goldberg said she wouldn't rule it out. Goldberg said her daughter has said she has always wanted to live in Europe and hinted that when the actress grandchildren grew up, the youngest is currently eight, would she seriously consider making the leap.

    "Sister Act" opens at the London Palladium on May 7.
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