After decades of producing dramas like the Oscar-nominated Precious, The Butler, The Paperboy and The United States vs. Billie Holiday, Lee Daniels is trying his hand at horror.
The Deliverance draws inspiration from the true-life story of LaToya Ammons, a Gary, Indiana, mother who, in 2011, claimed her children had become possessed by a demonic spirit. The film — which was released in select theaters on Aug. 16 and will stream on Netflix on Aug. 30 — sees the producer and director reuniting with Andra Day — who won a Golden Globe for best actress and received an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of the titular character in Billie Holiday — in the lead role of Ebony, a neglectful, alcoholic mother struggling with her own abandonment issues. Daniels also works with Mo’Nique again for the first time since their public falling out over financial expectations around promoting Precious, the 2009 film for which Mo’Nique won the best actress Oscar.
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“First of all, part of me trying to find my higher power [while working on this film] was also understanding what that meant,” Daniels tells The Hollywood Reporter in the conversation below. “And that meant forgiveness, that meant apologizing, even if I didn’t understand what I was apologizing for. I had to understand that she was hurt, and that is my sister, and that I love her.”
Joining Day and Mo’Nique onscreen in The Deliverance, which Daniels describes as a “faith-based thriller,” are Glenn Close, who stars as Alberta, Ebony’s mother who’s now found Jesus after not being the parent her daughter needed her to be as a child; and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, who portrays Reverend Bernice James.
“I was in a fantasy,” Daniels says of working with Ellis-Taylor. “To me, she represents the old school dolls. She represents Rosalind Cash. She represents Paula Kelly. She represents all those unspoken Black women that never got their credit. So many brilliant Black actors that I watched as a child. She has that old school soul that is giving them life. I get emotional because I love Black women, so it was really beautiful working with them.”
Here, Daniels talks about his initial reservations about bringing Ammons’ story to the screen, working with Close, and why he won’t read the reviews of his latest film — or of any other future projects.
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When did you first hear of LaToya Ammons’ story, and what made you want to produce it for the screen?
I had never heard of it before Precious. My producer who produced the first film that I had done — Tucker Tooley, we did Shadowboxer together — he gave it to me right after I did Precious. And I steered away from it for a couple of reasons. One, I felt that I didn’t want to do another story about abuse. This woman was abusing her kids — or what defines as abuse, because she was hitting the kids. And two, I know how I work. I’m an open portal. And I know what I demand. And I know the spirit works through me. So what kind of spirits do I want on me? So I was just like, “no, I’m not [going to do it].” But the story sort of sat with me for forever. We had never seen this story, through this lens of this African American woman, onscreen, and I just felt we’re in such dark times, and I don’t think people really know how dark of times we are in. And I felt like I needed to get reconnected to my higher power.
So I was thinking, “okay, how do I do it?” I’m scaring you to Jesus — for me. It could be scaring you to Allah, it could be scaring you to Buddha, it could be scaring you to whomever it is that you have faith in, but it’s scaring you to a faith. I’m always a little ahead of the curve, I think, when it comes to where we are and why I do my projects. It’s always because it’s something in the ether. I remember with Empire, it was like, “I’m tired of Black men and women making fun of me because I’m gay.” I need to change that. And now, look at us.
Andra Day said you talked to her about this role on the set of The United States vs. Billie Holiday. What made you want her for the lead in this story as well?
Because she’s spiritual. When the battle happens [toward the end of the movie] and she’s speaking in tongues [the act of communicating in an unknown language that’s considered a divine gift], that was not rehearsed; that was not scripted. She started speaking in tongues. And I realized in that moment how powerful God is and how wonderful it was — I’m getting emotional talking about it — and how important it was to tell this, and why she was right for it. I knew that she always prayed on the set of Billie Holiday. I knew that she was really a devout Christian, and has always been teaching me, and praying for me and helping me learn how to pray better. And when she started speaking in tongues, the AD was like, “Okay, so wait, what? Can we cut?” I said, “No, no, no, no, no. Let it go until she wears herself out.” People that aren’t Christians or that don’t know what speaking in tongues is were like, “Wait a minute, what’s happening?” It was beautiful. The devil wasn’t coming for us that day. That’s for damn sure.
I’m so happy this is over with, by the way. The reason I did it was because I really wanted to grow as a filmmaker. I remember doing television, and I just wanted to grow and understand that medium, understand music a little better. So for this, it was really saying, “Can I do a horror film?” It ended up being a faith-based thriller but, what is my version of that? And I don’t know whether I can do it, I’m probably gonna fall on my ass — who knows whether the critics will like it. But, am I able to really force myself into a category that I would never think or dream about being in? So, I’ll never do it again. But I think that the next thing I’m going to probably try to do is a superhero movie. I’ll never do a romantic comedy because that’s a horror story in itself. I’d be terrified trying to get somebody to laugh.
Will you read the reviews when this comes out, or do you stay away from that?
Hell, no. How do you expect me to read or take seriously, for the most part, what white men who haven’t walked in my shoes, who haven’t been battered as a Black gay kid, who haven’t lived the HIV experience— they don’t have the lens, they don’t see the world the way I see the world as a Black man, as a queer man, so they will never understand my artistic vision. I used to take it seriously, but I can’t take it seriously anymore. Because if I do, then it reminds me of me being bullied as a kid. So, I can’t.
It was such a surprise to see Mo’Nique in this film after the fallout from Precious. How did that happen?
Wasn’t that God working? First of all, part of me trying to find my higher power was also understanding what that meant. And that meant forgiveness, that meant apologizing, even if I didn’t understand what I was apologizing for. I had to understand that she was hurt, and that is my sister, and that I love her. And like, what is this about? You know what I mean? This is crazy. I love you, this is enough. So, not only am I going to apologize, but I’m going to apologize publicly to you, and we’re getting ready to work together. And then we’re going to work together again, how about that?
Glenn Close is also in this film, and we haven’t seen her like this before. Talk about getting her on board.
Black people know this woman. That’s part of the reason why I did it, because I know that we’ve never seen this white woman ever in this world, and that’s what I love about it. I love being fresh and original and provocative to our culture. But Glenn was trying [to understand] like, “Wait, so you want me to put on weight and then you’re gonna take these clothes in, and then what? And then baby hair, what?” But she did it. She’s a true thespian and it was just beautiful.
What did you say when you first saw her get out of the hair and makeup chair?
I gagged on the floor and rolled over like a kid in a candy store, I was so happy. And she looked at me like, “what is this?” But Monique and Anjanue and Andra really helped her with what body positivity was, and that was what she walked away with: that Black women have this sense of body positivity that she now can carry on through life. That was her life lesson on this movie. That’s Black women. And that’s, oh my God, that’s just a bigger gift than the film for me.
Did you talk with LaToya’s family at all throughout the filmmaking process?
I did in the very beginning. [They were] so gracious. It’s my interpretation of her life story. I purposely didn’t want to meet her because I was nervous. But I spoke to her, I believe once or twice, in the beginning. And she’s lovely. She was at peace. What I’ve changed a little bit is I made her mother white because I have so many mixed-race friends and [I wanted to talk about] what it’s like to have a white mother and live in a Black girl’s body. And the deliverance person was actually a guy and not a girl. But there are so many women that do this work too, that don’t get recognized, so I changed that a little bit, and of course their names and such. I really wanted to separate as much as I could so I could make it my own story.
The Deliverance is now playing in select theaters and streams on Netflix Aug. 30
