What About Love? The Color Purple: Love Story 💜 (Taraji & Fantasia)

Chapter 2: Behind The Scenes

Tarajis POV

Working on the color purple has been a roller coaster ride for me. I didn't expect there to be so much drama, especially early on. I've had to speak up for my girls more often than not, and make sure these people know our worth. If I don't stand up then it's clearly nobody will. We all deserve better. I'm humbled and so grateful to be in this experience, however, I still have standards and expect to be treated as I deserve. I know who I am. I know how hard I work. I deserve to be compensated appropriately.

Me and Lady O...hmph. We've been butting heads lately too. We don't see eye to eye on a lot of things because we're both strong willed. I've been tryin to bite my tongue though because I don't need any mess more than I already have. I just wanna get to the finish line of this. It'll be worth it in the end.
Just need to stay focused is all...

My girl Fanny is coming over today! She's my saving grace..Cause Lord knows I can't stand most of these people.

Fantasias POV

Taraji and I are meeting off set today for our own rehearsals and she's going to be teaching me a few tricks that she's learned about  detaching from the characters while filming so you don't get too lost. I am excited and a lil nervous, but I'm always so happy to be in her presence.

I walk up to the glass door of her penthouse before ringing the doorbell. It's only a few seconds before Taraji comes to greet me.

"Hi baby! I'm so glad to see you" Taraji squeezes me tight in a loving hug.

"I'm happy to see you too!" I smile wide and she smiles back.

"Come inside, you hungry? You need something to drink?"

Taraji pulls me by the hand and guides me towards the kitchen.

"Make yourself at home!" She gestures towards the couch. I can't believe this is the first time I'm seeing her home. It's beautiful and cozy. Super clean. I barely wanna touch anything because of how tidy it is.

Before I have a chance to say anything she hands me a glass of water.

"Oh, Thank you, T. You have a beautiful home and it smells so good in here....my eyes beamed as I looked around. Then a delicious aroma hits my nose.

Whatchu back there cooking?" I inquire pleasantly.

"Ohhh you know, nothin too special. Just some greens, baked Mac & cheese. Turkey, and some rice and beans" She glances over her shoulder at me and we both bust out laughing.

"Yeah okay, nothing special." I scoff. "Sound like Thanksgiving up in here." I think to myself for a moment. "Wait a minute, ain't you vegan!?"

She hits her spoon on the pan and I hear her giggling.

"Most of this food here is for you. Well, you know I wasn't gonna let you come up over here and starve. I don't even get down like that. We family." She says without turning around to face me yet.

We family.
I think that sounds right.
Were close enough to be family.

I really did gain so much love for her in such a short amount of time.

Taraji walks over to me sitting on the couch before she plops down beside me. I catch wind of her perfume and it intoxicates my nostrils.
I inhale gently.

"Hmmmm. So dinner should be ready in about half an hour. In the mean time, we can just go over these scenes giving you a hard time..."
She expresses with empathy.

Taraji tilts her head and places her hand on my thigh while she speaks. I hold my breath.
We catch eye contact for a moment before I break the silence.

I clear my throat.

"I think I'm mainly just struggling with separating myself from the scenes with Mister and...

Umm.."

I trail off a bit and my voice gets raspy.

Taraji grabs my hand "Hey, it's okay. I know this stuff can be kinda intense. We got this." She reassures and shakes my hand.

I nod and swallow hard. "I'm struggling with our scenes too..sometimes it's hard for me to switch on and off from our characters and I feel emotionally confused..does that ever happen to you?" I look up slowly and she also looks a bit confused.

Taraji rubs her chin. "Well..maybe. But can you explain more of what you mean?"

"I mean, like...When Celie has scenes with Mister..sometimes I find myself getting so emotional and exhausted like she would be. In our scenes, we have to be more intimate, close and..kiss. I have a hard time figuring out what are actually my feelings from..Celie. Like, how Celie is in love with Shug or at least she thinks she is, sometimes I can't tell if I'm feeling...I don't know." I slouch in frustration.

I look up to her eyes to see clarity wash over face, her cheeks look flushed pink.

"So you're saying, you sometimes get confused with our more intimate scenes because it kinda feels like...real feelings? Am I getting that right?" Taraji asks in one of the softest voices I ever heard her speak in.

"Mhmmm" I get a little flustered and embarrassed. "But I know I probably sound crazy-

"No, no. You don't." She interrupts. It happens sometimes. You get so caught up in the character you don't always realize which feelings are yours and which ones are only yours within your role. That's the blessing and a curse of being a good actor. You are a GOOD actor. Sometimes we just have to step back from that character when that starts happening. Set a boundary with ourselves, in our minds. It happens to me too in certain scenes, but I think there's a way you can step out of it, while your in it.." Taraji affirms with a slightly pouty lip. "I'm no expert by any means, but I've learned a thing or two over the years."

My eyes widen. "Really? How what have to learned? I respond with genuine curiosity.

She slides closer to me on the couch.

"You know how we have our more intimate scenes right? You just need to focus on being present while you're in them." She suggests as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"So let's practice the kiss, because that's the most intimate scene we have together. I'll show you, you can just easily detach from it if you want to. Whenever you feel yourself slipping, I'll remind you to get grounded and in no time, you'll be able to do it on your own."