The Secret Life of Bees Cast - Show Recap

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Oprah was pleased to welcome the entire cast of the new film The Secret Life of Bees which was adapted from a book that has sold more than 5 million copies and was on the New York Times bestsellers list for more than 100 weeks. The film is set in the 1960s in South Carolina with an underlying current of the civil rights movement in the lives of the characters. The film stars Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys and Sophie Okonedo and opens in theatres October 17, 2008.

Oprah first welcomed each of the stars up to the stage individually beginning with Queen Latifah. Oprah opened by talking to Queen Latifah about her work with Jenny Craig, how she has lost 20 pounds so far on the program and has gotten her entire family involved. QL shared how she heard that by dropping 5-10% of your body weight you can greatly reduce the chances of getting weight related medical issues and so wanted to start the program for her health. She shared that her program is not about her image but about her health. QL's mother Rita and aunt Angel were also on show via Skype to share their weight stories.

QL's mother Rita has lost 20 pounds as well on the program while her aunt Angel has lost 36 pounds and also appeared with QL on a Jenny Craig commercial.

The interview then shifted to the film and QL's character August who is the oldest sister to Alicia Keys and Sophie Okonedo's characters and is solid and nurturing to the family and Dakota Fanning's character.

QL shared that she didn't use the book for her inspiration but followed the script closely to get the film character correct and not use the descriptions in the book to change the perception of the character in any way.

Dakota Fanning was next on the stage to share about her role in the film and in life. Dakota plays Lily, the narrator of the film, who is guilty over the death of her mother when she was very young and runs away to be taken in by the Boatwright sisters. A clip was shown of the film where Dakota had to be incredibly emotional over her role in her mother's death. She described how she gets to know her character so well that the emotion comes naturally when she puts herself into her character. Dakota also has a kissing scene in the film, but shared that her co-actor made her very comfortable for the shoot.

Already considered an amazing actress in Hollywood, Dakota is now only 14, a sophomore in high school and a varsity cheerleader. Oprah was curious why Dakota would want to go to high school and be a cheerleader when she has worked with some of the best actors in the business. She replied by describing how she was home schooled from second through eighth grade and wanted a memorable high school experience; she wants to be able to act and have a school life.

Alicia Keys joined Oprah on stage and described her character June and what it was like to switch from behind a piano to behind a camera. Alicia's character in the film is June Boatwright who in a music teacher and very independent. The character has a very strong exterior but is vulnerable; something Alicia said she related to. Alicia's character has a fear of marriage in the film, but Alicia says through playing the role she understands how marriage is both tough and beautiful.

To end the show, Alicia performed her song 'Superwoman'."

After winning an Oscar for her performance in Dreamgirls, Jennifer Hudson's life has been both busy and blessed. She shared when she started the interview that she loves to be in a new industry and really grow in her acting. She also has released her self-titled album and is still shocked by how her career and life have turned out.

Jennifer also introduced viewers to her fiance David who she met through a mutual friend in Chicago.

Sophie Okonedo was last to sit down with Oprah and talk about her character May Boatwright, who "carries the weight of the world on her shoulders." Sophie uses her background in theatre to prepare for her roles and did her regular script review when getting ready for the film. Sophie also described how it is a natural part of the process of getting into a character for her to learn a new dialect and lose her accent. Getting so into her part also helped Sophie portray May the way she needed, emotionally fragile. With all the research she does going into a film, Sophie has to trust that the emotions will come.