What's Love Got to Do with It (1993 film)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
What's Love Got to Do with It
A black line drawing on a white background, showing the outline of a woman's hair and bright red lips
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBrian Gibson
Screenplay byKate Lanier
Story byHoward Ashman (uncredited)[1]
Based onI, Tina
by Tina Turner
with Kurt Loder
Produced by
  • Doug Chapin
  • Barry Krost
Starring
CinematographyJamie Anderson
Edited byStuart Pappé
Music byStanley Clarke
Production
company
Distributed byBuena Vista Pictures Distribution
Release dates
  • June 6, 1993 (1993-06-06) (Los Angeles)
  • June 25, 1993 (1993-06-25) (United States)
Running time
118 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$15 million[2]
Box office$61 million[3]

What's Love Got to Do with It is a 1993 American biographical film based on the life of American singer-songwriter Tina Turner. Directed by Brian Gibson and written by Kate Lanier from a uncredited story draft by the late Howard Ashman, based on Tina's 1986 autobiography I, Tina, it stars Angela Bassett as Tina and Laurence Fishburne as her abusive husband Ike Turner.

What's Love Got to Do with It premiered in Los Angeles on June 6, 1993, and was theatrically released by Touchstone Pictures on June 25, 1993. Although the Turners disapproved of its inaccuracies, the film was critically and commercially successful, grossing $61 million on a $15 million budget. For their performances, Bassett and Fishburne received nominations at the 66th Academy Awards for Best Actress and Best Actor. Bassett also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical.

Plot

Raised in

East St. Louis, where she sees bandleader Ike Turner perform with his band Kings of Rhythm
. After nights of seeing women in the crowd coming onstage to sing with Ike, Anna finally gets her chance to perform for Ike and impresses him so much that he offers to mentor her and produce her music.

As the first frontwoman of Kings of Rhythm, along with the formation of a backing girl group (later known as the Ikettes), Anna develops a local popularity at the St. Louis club scene. The two record a hit song, "A Fool in Love" and develop a romance. Anna becomes pregnant with their son and learns, while in the hospital, that her name has changed to Tina Turner after the radio station announces the name "Ike & Tina Turner" following the playing of "A Fool in Love". The couple drives to Tijuana to get married and soon after the Ike & Tina Turner Revue becomes a national sensation and relocates to Los Angeles. Upon learning that Ike & Tina have moved to Los Angeles, Ike's former girlfriend Lorraine Taylor makes an unexpected visit to their new home and drops off their two sons, which further complicates matters at home.

One day while at home, Tina voices her opinion that Ike's music "all sounds the same", which leads to Ike beating her in front of their four sons. Following a performance on a teen rock and roll show in 1966, Tina is offered a solo deal with Phil Spector for the song, "River Deep – Mountain High." Following the release of the song, the duo open for the Rolling Stones in London and find success with their recording of "Proud Mary", which transforms the Revue from a national R&B phenomenon to an international sensation. Over time, crowds begin clamoring more to Tina than Ike, which causes further tension as Ike discovers cocaine.

During one recording session of the song, "

Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo
which leads Tina to find a newfound strength. Then, in 1976, while en route to a show in Dallas, a fed-up Tina begins to annoy Ike and they get into a physical altercation in the limousine on their way to the hotel. Upon their arrival, Ike falls asleep and Tina flees, running across a freeway to the Ramada Inn where she finds refuge. Tina later files for divorce and in the final matter, she agrees to give up everything except her stage name.

In 1980, Tina begins rebuilding her career at the cabaret circuit and invites a young impresario named

Ritz Theatre in 1983 where Ike confronts her at her dressing room with a gun. Undeterred, Tina verbally silences him and leaves the dressing room where she dazzles the audience at the Ritz with her new hit single, "What's Love Got to Do with It
", where she eventually realizes her dream of being a rock superstar.

Cast

Production

Angela Bassett portrayed the American singer-songwriter Tina Turner in the film.

Taylor Hackford was originally slated to direct; however, Hackford would later be replaced by Mario Van Peebles, who also wanted to play Ike Turner. Van Peebles left the project to direct Posse (1993). Touchstone Pictures offered the film to Brian Gibson, who was about to direct The Thing Called Love (1993) for Paramount Pictures. Gibson choose to helm the Touchstone project due to a more profitable pay-or-play deal which Paramount failed to match.[4]

Vanessa L. Williams were all considered for the lead role.[5] Houston was actually offered the role, but had to decline due to imminent maternity. Jenifer Lewis also originally auditioned to play Tina but was cast instead as Tina's mother despite being only a year older than Bassett.[6]

Angela Bassett auditioned in October 1992 and was chosen only a month before production began in December. During that time, she had to learn not only how to talk like Turner but to dance and move like her. She would have been willing to try to do the singing as well, but ''not in the time we had,'' she said. ''I did think about it for a second, though.'' Instead, she lipsyncs to soundtracks recorded by Tina and Fishburne. Bassett worked with Tina, but only ''a little bit.'' Turner helped most with the re-creations of her famed dance routines.[7] She also re-recorded new versions of all the songs used in the film.[8]

Laurence Fishburne was offered the role of Ike five times and turned it down each time.[5][9] "It was pretty one-sided," said Fishburne, who turned down the project based on the script he first read. Ike, Fishburne added, was "obviously the villain of the piece, but there was no explanation as to why he behaved the way he behaved - why she was with him for 16 to 20 years, what made her stay."[7] The writers made some changes and though Ike is still shown as a pretty despicable sort, the film offers at least some insight into him - most notably a scene in which Ike recalls watching, at age 6, his father's death from wounds suffered in a fight over a woman. The changes helped persuade Fishburne to do the role, but he says that Bassett's casting as Tina "was the deciding factor."[7][9]

Fishburne did not have Ike around to help model his performance as much as he would have liked. He met him once during production. "He was not particularly welcome on this project," Fishburne says.[5] The actor's only meeting was a brief introduction when Ike showed up at the Turners' former home in View Park during a location shoot. Ike signed some autographs and showed Fishburne his walk. "It was nice to meet him," says Fishburne. "Regardless of his actions, he was so much a part of Tina's life. The movie is about him just as much as her. It's unfortunate that he wasn't welcomed, that both of them weren't around more."[5] Director Gibson had no contact with Ike. "I never spoke to him," says Gibson. "I was not allowed to. Disney felt that it would not be a good idea."[5]

Screenwriter Kate Lanier omitted much of the brutality Tina said she endured in her book.[10] Her character was also sanitized; most notably, her relationship with saxophonist Raymond Hill and the birth of their son was excluded from the film.[11] Lanier admitted that Tina Turner was not happy with certain aspects of the film because some parts were fictionalized.[10] Tina Turner tried to talk to the Disney filmmakers about the script. In 1993, she told Vanity Fair that they saw "a deep need" to make a film about "a woman who was a victim to a con man. How weak! How shallow! How dare you think that was what I was? I was in control every minute there. I was there because I wanted to be, because I had promised." She added, "O.K. so if I was a victim, fine. Maybe I was a victim for a short while. But give me credit for thinking the whole time I was there. See, I do have pride."[12]

Historical accuracy

Although the film was adapted from Tina Turner's autobiography I, Tina, elements of the script were "fictionalized for dramatic purposes".[5]

Reception

Critical reception

What's Love Got to Do with It received widespread critical acclaim.[28][29][30] On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 97% based on 58 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The site's consensus is: "With a fascinating real-life story and powerhouse performances from Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne, What's Love Got to Do with It is a can't miss biopic."[31] Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average to critics' reviews, gave the film an average score of 76 out of 100 based on 26 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[32] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[33]

The performances of Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne garnered widespread critical acclaim, earning them Academy Award nominations for Best Actress and Best Actor respectively.

Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote: "The brilliant, mercurial portrayal of Ike Turner by Laurence Fishburne, formerly known as Larry, is what elevates What's Love Got to Do With It beyond the realm of run-of-the-mill biography."[34] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave it a score of four out of four, calling it, "A powerful, joyful, raw, energetically acted bio-pic detailing the joys and pain of the on- and offstage lives of blues rockers Ike and Tina Turner."[35]

Responses by Tina and Ike

Tina Turner stated she wished the film had not portrayed her as a "victim".[12] In 2018, Turner told Oprah Winfrey that she had only recently watched the film. She said, "I watched a little bit of it, but I didn't finish it because that was not how things went. Oprah, I didn't realize they would change the details so much."[36] Despite her disapproval of elements of the film, Turner heavily praised Bassett's portrayal of her. When Bassett was named one of Time's 100 most influential people in 2023, Turner wrote of Bassett's portrayal of her in What's Love Got to Do With It: "Angela, the first time we met, you didn't look, sound, or move like me—that came later after you worked so hard to make it happen. But even then, I could see that the young woman standing before me had strength, determination, and big, big dreams, just like me. 'She's perfect,' I said, and I was right. You never mimicked me. Instead, you reached deep into your soul, found your inner Tina, and showed her to the world."[37][38]

Ike Turner said that the film and Tina Turner's book are "filled with lies".[39][40] In his autobiography, Takin' Back My Name, he said Fishburne did "a fantastic job, though the job he did isn't really me".[19] He also stated he was upset about the rape scene, which he claimed was fabricated and "was the lowest thing they could have ever done". He added that the film damaged his reputation.[19]

Box office

The film grossed $40.1 million in the United States and Canada and $20.5 million internationally for a worldwide total of $60.6 million.[3]

Awards

Award Category Nominee(s) Result
Academy Awards[41] Best Actor Laurence Fishburne Nominated
Best Actress Angela Bassett Nominated
American Choreography Awards Outstanding Achievement in Feature Film Michael Peters Won[a]
Artios Awards[42] Best Casting for Feature Film – Drama Reuben Cannon Nominated
Brit Awards
Best Soundtrack/Cast Recording What's Love Got to Do with It Nominated
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards Best Actor Laurence Fishburne Nominated
Best Actress Angela Bassett[43] Nominated
Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards Best Actress Nominated
Golden Globe Awards[44] Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Won
Grammy Awards Best Female Pop Vocal Performance "I Don't Wanna Fight" – Tina Turner Nominated
Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television "I Don't Wanna Fight" – Steve DuBerry, Lulu Lawrie & Billy Lawrie (songwriters) Nominated
MTV Movie Awards Best Female Performance Angela Bassett Nominated
NAACP Image Awards[45] Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture Laurence Fishburne Nominated
Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture Angela Bassett Won
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Vanessa Bell Calloway Nominated
Jenifer Lewis Nominated
Young Artist Awards[46] Best Youth Actress Co-Starring in a Motion Picture – Drama Rae'Ven Larrymore Kelly Nominated

American Film Institute

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

Top lists

  • Ranked #1 on Favorite Movie of the Year in 1994 by Ebony Readers' Poll[48]
  • Ranked #2 on Top 9 Subjects of a Music Bio-Pic by Entertainment Weekly[49]
  • Ranked #8 on Top 10 Best Rock Biopics by Rolling Stone Readers' Poll[50]
  • Ranked #9 on The Best Black Movies of the Last 30 Years By
    Complex[51]

Soundtrack

References

  1. ^ "Alan Menken on Losing Disney Lyricist Howard Ashman to AIDS: 'It Was Crushing'". HuffPost. 12 August 2020.
  2. ^ "What's Love Got to Do With It (1993) - Financial Information". The Numbers.
  3. ^ a b "Top 100 grossers worldwide, '93-94". Variety. October 17, 1994. p. M-56.
  4. ^ "AFI|Catalog". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  5. ^
    ISSN 0458-3035
    . Retrieved 2013-10-06.
  6. . Retrieved 2021-07-27.
  7. ^ a b c "How Laurence And Angela Became Ike And Tina". tribunedigital-orlandosentinel. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  8. ^ What's Love Got to Do With It - Tina Turner | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic, retrieved 2021-07-26
  9. ^ a b Jung, E. Alex (19 August 2020). "Laurence Fishburne Knows Who He Is". Vulture. Well, I turned the movie down five times. The reason I said yes finally was because Angie was going to play the part.
  10. ^ a b Collier, Aldore (July 1993). "'What's Love Git To Do With It': Larry Fishburne and Angela Bassett portray Ike and Tina Turner In New Movie". Ebony. 48 (9): 110–112.
  11. ^
    OCLC 13069211
    .
  12. ^ a b Orth, Maureen (May 1993). "Tina Turner – The Lady Has Legs!". Vanity Fair.
  13. ^ Cawthorne & Turner 1999, p. 46.
  14. .
  15. ^ Turner & Loder 1986, p. 59.
  16. ^ Turner & Loder 1986, p. 57.
  17. ^ "Six definitive songs: The ultimate beginner's guide to Otis Redding". 9 September 2020. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
  18. ^ Turner & Loder 1986, p. 64.
  19. ^
    OCLC 43321298
    .
  20. .
  21. ^ Turner & Loder 1986, p. 69.
  22. . Retrieved November 18, 2018.
  23. ^ Turner & Loder 1986, p. 70.
  24. ^ Cawthorne & Turner 1999, p. 115.
  25. ^ Turner & Loder 1986, p. 115.
  26. ^ Turner & Loder 1986, p. 162.
  27. ^ "Tina Turner | Album Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
  28. ^ "Tina turns tumultuous life into 'Love'". The Baltimore Sun. 1993-06-18. Retrieved 2013-10-05.
  29. ^ Turan, Kenneth (1993-06-09). "Movie Review : 'Love': Playing It Nice and Rough : Exceptional Acting Powers Story of Up and Downs of Ike and Tina Turner". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2013-10-05.
  30. ^ Rickey, Carrie (1994-03-24). "For Pop Queen Tina Turner, Life Was Never, Ever Nice And Easy". Philly.com. Archived from the original on October 6, 2013. Retrieved 2013-10-05.
  31. ^ "What's Love Got to Do With It". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  32. Fandom, Inc.
    Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  33. ^ "Home". CinemaScore. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
  34. ^ Maslin, Janet (9 June 1993). "Review/Film: What's Love Got to Do With It; Tina Turner's Tale: Living Life With Ike and Then Without Him". The New York Times.
  35. ^ Siskel, Gene (June 11, 1993). "Tina Turner Story Tunes in to the Rhythms of Real Life". chicagotribune.com.
  36. ^ "Tina Turner Talks To Oprah About Keeping Her Spirits Up After a Stroke and Losing Her Son". Oprah magazine. 2018-10-03. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
  37. ^ Turner, Tina (April 13, 2023). "Angela Bassett Is on the 2023 TIME 100 List". Time. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
  38. ^ Pannett, Rachel (May 25, 2023). "How a 1993 Tina Turner biopic created a new generation of fans". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
  39. ^ Philips, Chuck (1993-06-24). "Q&A with Ike Turner : 'I Was the One Who Turned Her Into Tina Turner'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2013-10-05.
  40. ^ "Ike Turner Says Movie Is False, Denies Beating Ex-Wife Tina Turner". Jet: 14. July 19, 1993.
  41. ^ "The 66th Academy Awards (1994) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. AMPAS. Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved October 22, 2011.
  42. ^ "Nominees/Winners". Casting Society of America. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  43. The Los Angeles Times
    . Retrieved 2010-12-22.
  44. HFPA
    . Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  45. ISSN 0458-3035
    . Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  46. ^ "15th Annual Youth In Film Awards". YoungArtistAwards.org. Archived from the original on 2011-04-03. Retrieved 2011-03-31.
  47. ^ "AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers" (PDF). American Film Institute. Retrieved 2016-08-14.
  48. ^ "EBONY Readers Poll End Of Year". Johnson Publishing Company. 12 September 1994. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  49. ^ "Top 9 Subjects of a Music Bio-Pic". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2018-03-20.
  50. ^ "Top 10 Best Rock Biopics". Rolling Stone Readers' Poll. Retrieved 2018-03-20.
  51. Complex
    . Retrieved 2018-03-31.

Bibliography

Notes

  1. ^ Tied with Otis Sallid for Swing Kids.

External links