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


What's Love Got to Do with It is a 1993 American biographical film directed by Brian Gibson, based on the life of American-born singer Tina Turner. The film stars Angela Bassett as Tina Turner and Laurence Fishburne as Ike Turner.
The screenplay was adapted by Kate Lanier from the book I, Tina co-written by Turner with Kurt Loder. Both Ike and Tina assigned rights to Lanier for their lives to be dramatized in the film. The film's soundtrack featured the hit song "I Don't Wanna Fight", which went to number one in seven countries. In the United States, the film grossed almost $40 million and around $20 million in rentals. In the United Kingdom, it grossed nearly £10 million.

Plot

Born and raised in Nutbush, Tennessee, Anna Mae Bullock grows up in an unhappy family with her parents leaving and abandoning her at a young age.
Following her grandmother's death, Anna Mae relocates to St. Louis, reuniting with her mother and close sister Alline. Anna Mae pursues a chance to be a professional singer, after seeing charismatic bandleader Ike Turner perform one night. Later, she wins her spot in Turner's band after singing onstage, and he begins mentoring her. In time, an unexpected romance develops between the two, after she moves into Ike's home. Shortly afterwards, they marry and begin having musical success together as Ike & Tina Turner.
The marriage quickly turns violent when Ike starts physically dominating Tina, leaving her no chance to escape. In public, Tina rises from local St. Louis phenomenon into an R&B superstar, with Ike growing increasingly jealous of the attention given to her. Ike turns to drugs as his behavior worsens while Tina seeks to find solace in her chaotic life. Her friend turns her on to Buddhism, eventually convincing her that reciting the Lotus Sutra and chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo will help "change her life." Tina grows increasingly confident afterwards and, in a final fight with Ike, finally musters the courage to defend herself; eventually leaving Ike after they arrive at a hotel.
Winning the right to retain her stage name after their divorce, Tina continues working to pay bills. Tina gets a break after meeting Roger Davies, who eventually helps her realize her dreams of rock stardom. Despite Ike's attempts to win her back, Tina eventually prevails and finds solo success, accomplishing her dreams without Ike.

Cast

, Robin Givens, Pam Grier, Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, and Vanessa L. Williams were all considered for the role of Tina Turner. Whitney Houston was actually offered the role, but had to decline due to imminent maternity. Jenifer Lewis also originally auditioned to play Tina Turner but was cast instead as Tina's mother even though she was born in 1957 and just one year older than Angela Bassett.
Angela Bassett auditioned for the role 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 lip syncs to soundtracks recorded by Tina Turner and Fishburne. Bassett worked with Tina Turner, but only a little bit. Turner helped most with the re-creations of her famed dance routines. Bassett was injured while filming the first spousal abuse sequence. She fell off the back of a high-rise sofa, put her hands out to reduce the impact, and suffered a hairline fracture of her right hand. She only tried the stunt fall once, and footage leading up to the mishap appears in the film.
Actress Vanessa Bell Calloway, who plays the fictional character Jackie, was leery of voicing the Buddhist chant because of her strong Christian faith. Director Brian Gibson allowed her to form the words with her lips silently during filming and added the words with a voice double in post-production.
All the Ike & Tina Turner songs used in the film were newly re-recorded versions by Tina Turner. On "Proud Mary" and "It's Gonna Work Out Fine", Laurence Fishburne sings Ike Turner's parts. For Tina Turner's solo recordings, the original masters were used, including the Phil Spector-produced "River Deep - Mountain High."
Laurence Fishburne was offered the role of Ike Turner five times and turned it down each time. 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." 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."
Fishburne did not have Ike Turner around as a role model as much as he would have liked. He met him once during production of the film. "He was not particularly welcome on this project," Fishburne says. 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." Director Brian 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."
Screenwriter Kate Lanier omitted much of the brutality Tina Turner said she endured in her book. Her character was also sanitized, most notably her relationship with saxophonist Raymond Hill and the birth of their son was excluded from the film. Lanier admitted that Tina Turner was not happy with certain aspects of the film because some parts were fictionalized. 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."

Inaccuracies

Though most of the scenes from the film were somehow depicted from Tina Turner's autobiography I, Tina, some other elements were "fictionalized for dramatic purposes."
The film received critical acclaim. It currently holds a 96% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 49 reviews with the consensus: "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."
The film received Academy Award nominations for Best Actress for Angela Bassett and Best Actor for Laurence Fishburne.
Ike Turner said that the film and Tina Turner's book are "filled with lies." In his autobiography Takin' Back My Name, he said that the film damaged his reputation because of the negative portrayal of himself. At Turner's funeral, Phil Spector slammed the film as a "piece of trash" which "demonized and vilified Ike."
Tina Turner stated she wished the film had more truth to it and she was not proud that the film had her being portrayed as a "victim." In 2018, Turner revealed to Oprah Winfrey that she 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."

Awards and honors

Bassett won a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical and an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Motion Picture. Laurence Fishburne was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and Bassett was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role. The film won an American Choreography Award for one of its dance sequences.
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Other honors

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