Bob Hercules, whose Media Process Group has been producing the only documentary about the life of writer and Civil Rights activist Maya Angelou, and felt very close to her, says he was devastated Wednesday upon hearing news of her death. Angelou, who suffered from COPD, was 86.
“When we got the word from her family early in the morning, I felt like someone had punched me in the stomach,” says Hercules. who has been deeply immersed in Angelou’s story since starting the project in early 2012.
Hercules estimates MPG has shot five to six hours of interviews with Angelou for the feature doc, “Angelou: The People’s Poet.” Interviews with Angelou took place in January and last July in the author’s home in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Despite her illness, Hercules says, “She was up for the interviews both times and appeared very energetic. She was an incredible storyteller. She could transport herself back to those times she’s talking about.
“She talked about the day Dr. King was assassinated, April 4, her birthday. She was going to have a big birthday party at her home and after that return to work for him. You could see in her face she was physically reliving that time. We could see how it was very poignant and painful for her to relate it.”
In April, MPG received a total of $170,000 in grants; $100,000 from Independent Television Service and $70,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts. The doc is expected to be completed in August or September and is scheduled to air on “American Masters” in early 2016.
“We interviewed Oprah last week and there are a lot of people we’re trying to line up, such as Hillary and Bill Clinton, Michelle Obama and Cicely Tyson. When completed, “It will be extraordinary, an amazing story about an incredible life’s journey,” Hercules says.
Emmy-winning Rita Coburn Whack, TV producer at WYCC/20 and author, co-directs with Hercules; MPG partner Keith Walker is the DP.
