Queen Latifah co-stars in TV Movie `Living With the Dead'

Jet, April 29, 2002

Multitalented performer Queen Latifah can do it all and shows no signs of slowing down.

Throughout her celebrated career, Latifah has reigned at the top of the record charts with such rap hits as U.N.I.T.Y. and Latifah's Had It Up To Here, starred in her own TV sitcom, "Living Single" and her own daily TV talk show, "Queen Latifah."

She also has starred in several blockbuster movies including The Bone Collector with Denzel Washington and Set It Off with Vivica A. Fox, Jada Pinkett Smith and Kimberly Elise. And along the way she found time to write the best-seller on self-esteem, Ladies First: Revelations Of A Strong Woman.

Now she is co-starring in the highly anticipated CBS TV four-hour miniseries Living With The Dead with Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, Michael Moriarty, Diane Ladd and Jack Palance. The movie airs in two parts, April 28 and April 30 at 9 p.m. ET each night.

The movie is inspired by the life and work of famed medium James Van Praagh, who comes to terms with his ability to speak to the dead and is then asked to help solve a series of murders by communicating with the victims who are on the other side. He is also the author of the No. 1 best-sellers Talking To Heaven and Reaching To Heaven.

Latifah stars as Midge, a woman who believes in psychic phenomena and is the good friend of James Van Praagh (played by Ted Danson) who talks to the dead.

She says the movie is "about a guy who has the gift of talking to spirits, people who have gone on into the next world. But, it's so a part of his (James') world, that it is normal for him. (In the movie), James didn't know that the spirits were not living anymore until he realized that no one else saw or heard them. In fact, he was discouraged all his life and told (by family, teachers and the church) not to use this gift, not to talk to them (the spirits) and not to convey messages to people on this earth from them."

She describes her role in the intriguing movie: "I play a woman, Midge, who goes to a psychic, Adrian, who often gives her advice. He (Adrian) told her that she would get the job working for James, so she trusts him. When James has difficulty dealing with his gift, she helps him to meet Adrian."

Danson points out, "I am not playing James Van Praagh by any means. It (the miniseries) is based on his life and work. The film has the spirit and the message of love and forgiveness which, if I may be presumptuous, is at least one of the main messages in the books that he writes."

Danson adds, "Talking about James Van Praagh or about anything spiritual or out of the ordinary, raises opinions in people. Whether it's cynicism or doubt or disbelief or even belief, people have strong reactions. You can sit in a room full of people where James does what he does--which is communicating with a relative or friend who has passed over--and it still does not have the impact that it has when it is you (whom James is reading). Because when it's the person sitting next to you, it's hearsay, it's interesting and it's a loving message. But, when it's you, it's life-altering."

Danson adds, "In the story, a series of boys have been killed, and on one level, it (the miniseries) is a whodunit ... about who killed the boys. On another level, it's about the spiritual message of love and forgiveness. It's a great way to get the message out."

Looking ahead, Latifah will co-star in the romantic comedy Brown Sugar with Taye Diggs and Sanaa Lathan. She is also working on her role in the film Chicago opposite Richard Gere, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renee Zellweger. After she has completed filming her roles in those two movies, she will move on to the Disney comedy In the Houze in which she will star and serve as executive producer. The film focuses on the average man, played by Steve Martin, who falls in love with a woman over the Internet (Latifah).

She will soon return to her first love--rap music--and is finishing up an album that music industry insiders say is a sure hit.