A feature documentary about the life and career of Whoopi Goldberg is currently in development from Imagine Documentaries and Message Pictures, working with One Hoe Productions. The film will be directed by two-time Academy Award nominee Geeta Gandbhir and aims to present an intimate portrait of the legendary performer.
“Imagine is thrilled to reunite with my friend and longtime collaborator the exceptional Geeta Gandbhir, Tom Leonardis and Message Pictures on this extraordinary opportunity to celebrate the singular icon that is Whoopi Goldberg,” said Sara Bernstein, President of Imagine Documentaries. “The world needs more Whoopi!”
The film will chronicle Goldberg’s rise from her groundbreaking one-woman stage show in the early 1980s to her acclaimed film debut in The Color Purple, a performance that helped launch a career spanning film, television, theater, and comedy. Over the decades, she became one of the few entertainers to achieve EGOT status.
Alongside her career milestones, the documentary will also follow Goldberg today. Cameras will capture her as she revisits and reinvents her 1984 Broadway debut show, The Whoopi Monologues, for a new production at Lincoln Center. The film will also show her collaborating with longtime producing partner Tom Leonardis, developing stage projects, spending time with family—including her great-grandchild—and maintaining a quieter life in Italy
The project will also draw heavily from Goldberg’s own reflections, combining archival recordings, performance clips, and personal materials. It will also build on themes from her memoir Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother and Me, offering a deeper look at the woman born Caryn Elaine Johnson and the experiences that shaped her path to becoming one of entertainment’s most distinctive voices..
“Whoopi Goldberg is a brilliant and groundbreaking storyteller who has shaped the landscape of entertainment for years,” said Gandbhir. “I, along with my partners Sam Pollard and Alisa Payne at Message Pictures, Whoopi’s long-time producing partner Tom Leonardis, President of Whoop, Inc, and Imagine Documentaries are honored to bring her story to life in this documentary.”
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