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KeKe Palmer Channeled The Strength Of Her Ancestors In Her New Movie ‘Alice’

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In an exclusive interview with KeKe “Big Boss” Palmer, we discussed her new movie Alice, why it is essential for her generation to see, and how playing Alice helped her connect to her ancestors for strength and support. The release date for Alice, starring Keke Palmer is this Friday, March 18th. In the meantime, check out our interview!

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Marsha B: Hello. Hi, how are you?

KeKe Palmer: Good, good, good. How about yourself?

Marsha B: I am doing well, I’m so happy for you. First of all, this is International Women’s Day. So it’s a great day to talk about your role as Alice, which was such a unique role to play. What did it feel like to play that character? And did you feel like you connected to your ancestors playing this character?

KeKe Palmer: Definitely felt like I connected to my ancestors, just playing the role. No one has asked that question, who mentioned that, and 100%, I felt like I really felt like they was like this holding me up the whole time. It’s crazy. It’s crazy. And then playing Alice was a beautiful experience, even with the, you know, intense subject matter, playing her heavy filled with so much pride. And I felt I had so much courage in playing that role. I felt so you know, I just felt like, it just made me feel like such a leader. And so I felt very, like I just can’t, I just carried the role and so much care. And I took my time scene by scene and made sure that I gave it my all because I knew how fragile and how important this story was to be told and needed, how it needed to be told, in a particular way. Because the group of people that I really wanted to, you know, you know, hit with this film was my generation, the generation coming under me, I really wanted them to be able to digest this narrative in a way that would empower them. And so I really wanted to be careful with the way that it was constructed.

Marsha B: Okay, and so I noticed throughout the film, every time you you saw a Black woman, whether it be on screen, or in a magazine you like, yeah, it was like you found little pieces of yourself. Can you talk to me a little bit more about that?

KeKe Palmer: Yeah, I think that Krystin Ver Linden, the writer and director her point of view in making that such a big part of the film is to get people to acknowledge which I think most of us do, but just even on a grander scale, how important representation is, so it was like a message within a message, you know, with those women being representation, but then also, you know, coffee when she went to the movie theaters, coffee being the representation, but then Alice in the very scene, right after kind of confirming that she’s a representation and so it was a way of telling the audience that yes, things don’t always change immediately and change that does happen doesn’t mean that there isn’t more change that needs to be happening. But that faith in hope in the way that we encourage one another, whether it be through art, whether it be through actual changes of legislation, or whatever it might be is what makes the world go round. We have to know that you know, the continue to fight the good fight and in the best way that you know how but never ever stopped believing.

 

For 2024’s iteration of MadameNoire and HelloBeautiful’s annual series Women to Know, we knew we wanted to celebrate the people who help make the joys of film and television possible. To create art is to create magic. This year, we spotlight Hollywood Executive’s changing the face of cinema.