ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

Female Film Critics 24/375

News 

WEEK IN WOMEN: Disco Queen Donna Summer Rocks New Doc – Brandy McDonnell reports

Brandy McDonnell , , , , ,
0 Flares 0 Flares ×

The late “Queen of Disco” Donna Summer will be the subject of a new feature documentary titled “Donna” from Polygram Entertainment, the film and television division of Universal Music Group. Academy Award-winning filmmaker Roger Ross Williams (Music by Prudence, Life, Animated) will direct the documentary alongside Summer’s daughter, Brooklyn Sudano.

Williams is producing with Oscar nominee Julie Goldman (Abacus: Small Enough to Jail, Life, Animated), Emmy winners Carolyn Hepburn and Christopher Clements (Born in China), and Polygram’s head of film and TV development and production David Blackman.

“Ever since I was a teenager, I have been transfixed by Donna Summer’s music,” Williams said in a statement. “She had a voice that spoke to my soul on the dance floor. To be able to tell her story from a very personal perspective and to do that with her brilliant daughter Brooklyn is a dream come true. I am grateful to Polygram for making this happen.”

Born LaDonna Adrian Gaines in Boston in 1948, Summer blasted to fame in 1975 with the single “Love to Love You Baby.” Her string of 1970s smashes – including the dance-floor gems “I Feel Love,” “Last Dance,” “Bad Girls” and “Hot Stuff” –  secured her the title of “Queen of Disco.” Continue reading on THE WEEK IN WOMEN.

0 Flares Twitter 0 Facebook 0 0 Flares ×

Brandy McDonnell

Brandy McDonnell writes features and reviews movies, music, events and the arts for The Oklahoman, Oklahoma's statewide newspaper, and NewsOK.com, the state's largest news Web site. Raised on a farm near Lindsay, Okla., she started her journalism career in seventh grade, when she was elected reporter for her school's 4-H Club. Taking her duties seriously, she began submitting stories to The Lindsay News, and worked for the local weekly through high school. She attended Oklahoma State University, where she worked for The Daily O'Collegian and earned her journalism degree with honors. She worked for three years at small Oklahoma dailies The Edmond Sun and Shawnee News-Star. In 2002, she joined The Oklahoman as a features reporter, writing about movies, the arts, events, families and nonprofits. She moved to The Oklahoman's entertainment desk in 2007. In 2004, she won a prestigious Journalism Fellowship in Child & Family Policy from the University of Maryland's Philip Merrill College of Journalism. Along with her membership in AWFJ, she also is a founding member of the Oklahoma Film Critics Circle. Brandy writes The Week In Women blog for AWFJ.org.