Whoopi Goldberg talks about historical film Till on Virgin Radio

Whoopi Goldberg was Graham Norton’s guest on Virgin Radio at the weekend and revealed why it’s the right time to release the film Till.

The historical film, which is now in cinemas, took decades to make and tells the story of Mamie Till-Bradley, who’s 14-year-old son Emmett was brutally murdered after whistling at a white woman in 1955 Mississippi.

Mamie decided to leave Emmett’s casket open for the world to see, and the events helped catapult the Civil Rights Movement.

Till shows Mamie’s journey and is from 27 years’ worth of research by writer Kevin Beauchamp.

Whoopi, who plays Mamie’s mother Alma Carthan, is also a producer of the film and thinks it’s the perfect time for such a film to be released.

Speaking to Graham on his Virgin Radio show, Whoopi said: “You would think that we would not have to work 18, 19, 21 years to get this made, Barbara Broccoli who you know… Bond! Fred Zollo, who did Mississippi Burning, and Keith Beauchamp, who is the reason this name of Emmett Till is still in our zeitgeist, and Mamie Till because the movie is about a mother and son, it’s about a mother and son and it’s beautiful.”

It was difficult to raise backing to make the film because it was felt that no one really cared about the story, but that changed when “George Floyd happened”.

The Hollywood star explained that it’s a tough movie because of what it’s about: “There’s no fear, you don’t need to be afraid to come see it. I have to say this was the right time, I know it took us forever to get it made, but it feels like we made it at the right time,” she added.

It took quite some time to decide who should play the lead as Mamie, but it was eventually decided to cast Danielle Deadwyler in the role, which Whoopi described as “incandescent.”

“She is magnificent,” Whoopi said. “But at its core…this is a story of an ordinary woman and her ordinary son, who are thrust into extraordinary circumstances, and this actress is off the hook, you’ve never seen a performance like this.”

You can hear The Graham Norton Radio Show every Saturday And Sunday from 9.30am on Virgin Radio.