The United States Vs. Billie Holiday
- Director
- Lee Daniels
- Release Date
- February 26, 2021
- Cast
- Natasha Lyonne , Tone Bell , Evan Ross , Tyler James Williams , Da'Vine Joy Randolph , Garrett Hedlund , Miss Lawrence , Rob Morgan , erik laray harvey , Andra Day , Trevante Rhodes
- Writers
- Suzan-Lori Parks
- Runtime
- 130 minutes
- Cinematographer
- Andrew Dunn
- Producer
- Pamela Oas Williams, Joe Roth, Tucker Tooley, Jordan Fudge, Jeff Kirschenbaum, Lee Daniels
- Production Company
- Roth/Kirschenbaum Films, New Slate Ventures, Lee Daniels Entertainment
- Distributor
- Hulu
Summary
The legendary Billie Holiday, one of the greatest jazz musicians of all time, spent much of her career being adored by fans across the globe. Beginning in the 1940’s in New York City, the federal government targeted Holiday ina growing effort to escalate and racialize the war on drugs, ultimately aiming to stop her from singing her controversial and heart-wrenching ballad, “Strange Fruit.” Led by director Lee Daniels and introducing singer-songwriter Andra Day, The United States vs. Billie Holiday unapologetically presents the icon’s complicated, irrepressible life. Screenplay writer Suzan-Lori Parks, the first African American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, pens this intimate tale of a fierce trailblazer whose defiance through music helped usher in the civil rights movement. Trevante Rhodes and Natasha Lyonne co-star along with Garrett Hedlund, Miss Lawrence, Rob Morgan, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Evan Ross, Tyler James Williams, Tone Bell, and Erik LaRay Harvey. The film is based on Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs by Johann Hari.
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