GCHS student Naomi Taylor appears as extra in new version of 'The Color Purple'

Greg Bailey, Gadsden Times
·4 min read
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It will be an even merrier Christmas this year for a Gadsden teenager, her family and friends.

Naomi Taylor, 14, a ninth-grader at Gadsden City High School, appears as an extra in the new musical film version of “The Color Purple,” which premieres in the United States on Dec. 25. (It opened last month in London.)

Naomi Taylor, now a ninth-grader at Gadsden City High School, is shown in a wardrobe test in March 2022 for the new musical film version of "The Color Purple," which premieres Christmas Day. Taylor appeared as an extra in the film.
Naomi Taylor, now a ninth-grader at Gadsden City High School, is shown in a wardrobe test in March 2022 for the new musical film version of "The Color Purple," which premieres Christmas Day. Taylor appeared as an extra in the film.

It was her first time before movie cameras, although she’s no stranger to performing and also is signed to a modeling agency, MGC. She’s a veteran of the Downtown Dance Conservatory in both ballet and contemporary, and appeared in Theatre of Gadsden's productions of “Annie,” “Charlotte’s Web,” “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” and “The Miracle Worker.”

Valerie Taylor, her mother, said her daughter has also been out on auditions — she got a call back for a Netflix show, but that was squashed by the COVID-19 pandemic — and that’s how her name got flagged to the film’s producers.

“That put her in a circle that people reach out to,” she said, and they got an email about the part.

Naomi Taylor appeared in two shots that were filmed in the Atlanta area in April 2022. (The entire production was filmed in Georgia from March to July of that year; other locations included Jekyll Island, Macon and Savannah.)

Both involved people on their way to church. In the first, she was in a group of townspeople who were singing. In the other, it’s just her and another extra, also named Naomi.

She and her mother spent three days in Georgia. “I had to be there because she’s a minor,” Valerie Taylor said. “They had a school on set.”

Both were impressed with how the crew did scenes over and over until they got it right.

Naomi Taylor, a ninth-grader at Gadsden City High School, said she'd like to repeat her experience as an extra on the film "The Color Purple," but her busy academic and sports schedule will likely limit that to one project a year.
Naomi Taylor, a ninth-grader at Gadsden City High School, said she'd like to repeat her experience as an extra on the film "The Color Purple," but her busy academic and sports schedule will likely limit that to one project a year.

“It was good experience to learn how stuff works,” Naomi Taylor said.

She also had to overcome a little adversity in the process. “After the first day, we ate at a restaurant and I woke up the next morning feeling sick,” she said. “When I got there, I threw up on the set. They asked me about shooting the scene, and they gave me some Gatorade and stuff because I knew I wasn’t missing the scene.”

The film is co-produced by some entertainment industry heavy hitters: Steven Spielberg, who directed the first movie adaptation of Alice Walker’s novel that was released in 1985; Oprah Winfrey, who earned an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress for her role in Spielberg’s film; music legend Quincy Jones; and Scott Sanders, an Emmy, Grammy and Tony award winner who joined Jones and Winfrey in producing the Broadway musical version that debuted in 2005.

Fantasia Barrino, Season 3 champion of “American Idol” and Grammy winner, portrays the protagonist, Celie, a Black woman in the early 20th century South who ultimately perseveres after a life filled with abuse. (She also played the role on Broadway.)

Others in the film include Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, H.E.R., Halle Bailey, Ciara, Phylicia Pearl Mpasi and Academy Award winner Louis Gossett Jr.

Naomi Taylor said she and another extra got a return wave from Bailey, who starred in Disney’s recent adaptation of “The Little Mermaid,” who was waiting to shoot a scene.

She also met David Mann, “Mr. Brown” from the “Madea” films, and his wife, Tamela, a noted gospel singer who appears in “The Color Purple:,” as well as cast members from “Blackish.”

The film’s soundtrack includes both the Broadway musical score and new songs created for the film, with performances by Mary J. Blige, Keyshia Cole, Missy Elliott, Jennifer Hudson, Coco Jones, Alicia Keys, Mary Mary, Megan Thee Stallion, Jorja Smith and Usher, along with Fantasia, Bailey, Ciara and H.E. R. from the cast.

Naomi Taylor said she’d like to repeat the experience, although her busy schedule would likely limit that to once a year. She maintains a 4.0 grade point average at GCHS and is taking pre-AP classes at Gadsden State Community College, and is a member of the junior varsity basketball and varsity volleyball teams and plans to run track next year.

Naomi Taylor, now a ninth-grader at Gadsden City High School, is shown in March 2022 being fitted for her costume as an extra in the new musical film version of "The Color Purple," which premieres Christmas Day.
Naomi Taylor, now a ninth-grader at Gadsden City High School, is shown in March 2022 being fitted for her costume as an extra in the new musical film version of "The Color Purple," which premieres Christmas Day.

She said her goal is to play collegiate basketball while studying to become a traveling diagnostic medical sonographer.

Showings of “The Color Purplel” are set for 2 p.m, 3:50 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 7:15 p.m. and 9 p.m. Christmas Day at the Gadsden Mall’s Premiere Cinema 16.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Gadsden City High Student appears as extra in 'The Color Purple'