What’s Love Got to Do With It?
Film Summary
Dir. Brian Gibson, 1993
Anna
Mae Bullock (Tina Turner): Angela Bassett
Ike
Turner: Laurence Fishburne
1. Child to Woman: Anna Mae
Graphic: The lotus is a flower that
grows in the mud. The thicker and the
deeper the mud the more beautiful the lotus blooms. This thought is expressed in the Buddhist chant nam nyoho renge
kyo.
Exterior of rural church in the
South. Inside the choir is practicing,
but little Anna Mae, a girl of eight or nine, absolutely irrepressible, is
holding forth, much to the dismay of the choir director. She urges Anna Mae to “cut out the wild
gyrations.” Finally the old woman drags
her out of the church by her ear.
Cut to shots of Anna Mae walking
home across the flat landscape. But
when she arrives home, she sees her mother leaving. She hears her mother screaming.
The little girl reaches out to a dried flower and flicks off a
grasshopper. She holds the grasshopper
in her open palm--then closes her palm.
Her mother rides off in a pickup truck. Inside the house is deserted.
She sits on her bed and waits.
An old woman comes in, her grandmother.
Cut to the old woman with Anna Mae on a draft horse. Anna Mae asks, “When is she coming back to
get me?” “She ain’t, honey. She just ain’t,” the old woman says.
Cut to the teenage Anna Mae on a
bus--looking expectantly out the window.
Graphic up: 1958. She arrives in
St. Louis to move in with her mother.
Her greeting with her mother is awkward, somewhat uncomfortable. At her mother’s house, her mother tries to
explain her past behavior--blaming it on her husband’s abusiveness.
2. St. Louis
Nightclub--Ike Turner’s Kingdom.
Anna Mae’s sister takes her with her
to one of the nightclubs. The featured act is Ike Turner. Part of his act is to solicit women from the
audience to join him on the stage and sing along. Anna Mae watches all of this with the innocence an enthusiasm of
adolescence. During this part of the
act, Ike looks down at Anna Mae and smiles seductively--she’s hooked.
Back home Anna Mae is rehearsing in
front of her bathroom mirror. Cut to
the next scene--she returns to the club after a make-over. She is dressed to kill. And you guessed it--she is invited on stage
to sing with the band. Reaction shots
of Ike show that he is impressed. “That
girl can sing!” Ike yells.Ike and Anna Mae at a diner early in the
morning. He orders and is the perfect
gentleman.
IKE: Girl you shocked the hell out of
me. Where did a little woman like you
get such a big voice? You sang like a
man. You are a woman. Any man can see that. But girl--it’s like you’ve got your own
particular way of getting a song out.
You’ve got your own unique sound.
That’s what sells records. I’ve
got a new singer.
He
indicates that she is the new talent he will develop. She is ecstatic.
Throughout the scene her reaction shots show exuberance and hero
worship. She can’t believe she is
sitting in a diner with Ike Turner.
3. Anna Mae’s Make-over.
Anna Mae is hopping around the
house--ecstatic that Ike Turner gave her his address and promised an
audition. Meanwhile, her mother,
dressed to kill as always, is primping at the mirror. Suddenly Ike and the boys arrive, in a red convertible. He is wearing a blue suit and long blue
coat, and his hair is slicked back.
Anna Mae’s mother answers the door: Ike asks, “Can I speak with your
mother?” When she insists she is Anna
Mae’s mother, Ike has the ready line: “What’s a fine young thing like you doing
with two grown daughters?” And the
mother falls for it.
But the mother at first is not
interested in turning Anna Mae over to these musicians. She shoos the daughters out of the room and
levels with Ike--Anna Mae is going to be a nurse so that she will bring home a
regular paycheck (for Mother’s benefit, of course). Ike is ready for this gambit.
You ever see a nurse driving an automobile as fine as mine?” He guarantees she will make big money. “I
can get anybody in St. Louis to sing in my band, but I want her.” Now the mother is interested. The scene is filmed in close shots,
reflecting the intimacy that Ike is able to establish with women. His final move: he hands over two $50 bills
and tells her the boys accidentally crushed some of her flowers in the front
yard. She puts the money away--and
checks the flowers outside the door (they are fine).
Anna Mae at the audition. She is singing, “Make me over.” At first Ike doesn’t like her effort--she
isn’t singing “rough” enough. Her mother objects to the “roughness,” but
Ike shoos her out so that he can get the intended effect from Anna Mae. She is magnificent. And she doesn’t even know it. Note how often
Ike is shown kneeling in front of her--with the attendant low angle shots from
his pov and the high angles from her pov.
The melody continues as we jump cut
to a montage of Anna Mae getting her make-over--new clothes, new hair, and publicity photos.
4. “You’re the only one I can talk to.”
The gang is all gathered at Ike’s
house. He announces they will begin a
national tour. Notice two of the women
who seem to be depressed, not enjoying the evening. One of them storms out despite his entreaties. Former lovers? Who’s next in line? Then
Ike shoos everyone out.
Later that night, Anna Mae comes
downstairs, on her way home, and she spots Ike sitting alone at a piano. He is playing a quiet number. He asks her too sit down. He asks her to open her mouth. She does so, expecting her first kiss! He looks in her mouth and says, “You haven’t
been to the dentist before, have you?”
He’s worried about the cavities she may have. Then he announces that she should stay in the house
overnight.
Anna Mae in bed that night. Suddenly Ike’s former lover, Lorraine, walks
in and points a gun at Anna Mae. “What
the hell’s going on here?” she demands.
Anna Mae sits up and is horrified.
Then Lorraine walks out, goes to her room, and shoots herself. Shot holds.
The camera doesn’t move. The open door to the hallway is on the right of
the frame. We can see Anna Mae
reflected in a mirror. She screams and
runs to the closed door. Ike enters the
frame and pounds on the door, then enters, then exits and calls one of the
boys, Anna Mae runs into her room--cut to her jumping onto her bed and sobbing.
Anna Mae stands at the door of the
house and looks out at the ambulance.
Lorraine isn’t dead. She is
taken away on a stretcher and Ike and one of the men goes to the hospital. Later, Ike returns. Anna Mae has been sleeping on the sofa. He tells her Lorraine will live. Ike sits next to her, she touches him to
comfort him, and he begins to break down.
He tells her how much he hates being in hospitals--his Father “was
messing around with some gangster’s woman--and suddenly he begins to seduce
her. She pushes him off at first. He then shares some of the dreams he has,
“dreams bigger than St. Louis,” and she listens. “She don’t make me feel the way you do. I can’t even talk to her.
You’re the only one. You’re the
only one I can talk to.” Her response:
“I won’t do what those other people did to you--leave you.” He kisses her. Cut to shot of the two having intercourse.
5. The Big Tour, the
New Baby, the Wedding in Mexico.
The bus pulls into town, and Ike
tells Anna Mae to go the beauty shop and have her hair bleached--so her hair
will look like white women’s hair. Cut
to the performance. Ike is stunned when
the women all come on stage wearing long black wigs. But Anna Mae is stunning, and her singing is great. The audience, all black people, loves
her.
Afterwards, the women celebrate in
their dressing room. Ike comes in and
seems to be threatening them--he asks what the wig thing is all about. Who thought of it. Before anyone can answer he declares, “I like it.” Everyone
relaxes. Then they celebrate. He goes over to Anna Mae, stands close to
her, and says, “You did real good out there.”
She is delighted that he thought she was worthy. He tells her that if she keeps doing well,
he will let her record in the studio.
She plants a kiss on his mouth.
All is sweetness and light.
Cut to black and white 8mm film of a
new baby in the hospital. Ike is behind
the camera. Anna Mae doesn’t look so
good. She’s still in bed. Her mother is visiting. Anna Mae finds out that Ike has named her
Tina and given her his name--Tina Turner.
She isn’t excited about the new name.
But Ike, who comes in to film Tina, is excited about the new name. He claims it makes her sound like she is the
“gorgeous, sexiest woman on God’s green earth.” The doctor comes in and announces that he won’t release Tina--she
is suffering from anemia. Ike is
stunned. All he can think of is the
number of dates the band has between now and the end of the tour.
Cut to a scene later than
night. Ike and one of the men from the
band
pick
up the baby and Tina and escape from the hospital--out the back way. Tina isn’t sure this is the right thing to
do. Then Ike plays his trump card--he
holds out a diamond ring and announces that they can go to Mexico tonight and
get married. Then they have a gig to
play in New York--he says, “You and me--Ike and Tina.”
Music up for a montage of Ike and
Tina arriving in Mexico in their white Cadillac. “It’s going to work out right,” is the song. Ike and Tina are the duo. Note the shaky camera work and the antics of
Ike--including a “trick” he plays on her--having the car pull away without
her. [Watch for a later car scene
between the two.] All is silliness and
gaiety. Ike is in control.
6. Fool in Love.
Graphic: New York, 1960 Dressing room at the theater. Tina is beat. She is exhausted, overwhelmed by the speed of the changes in her
life. When she continues to object to
his smooth talk, he hits hard verbally:
IKE: What about the band? You talking about the baby and the road and
the it’s all happening too fast, baby you’ve got more excuses than a nigger
going to jail. This is about business
right here. That marquee say Ike and
Tina Turner. And the people out there
are waiting on me, and you talking about . . . you going to take care of
business, or are you looking for a way out?
Oh, so you’re going to leave me, like all those other suckers I made
famous? We’re at the place I’ve been
trying to get to my whole life. I need
you to get out on that stage right now.
She
says, “I’m sorry, Ike.” She gets up to
dress for the show. He looks at her and
says, “You’re the sorriest mother fucker I’ve ever seen.” He gets up and storms out, but not before he
spills more vitriol out on her.
The big show--opening is their new
song, “Fool in Love.” Tina stands at
the mike but doesn’t move. Ike moves
over toward her and looks hard at her.
Then he reaches over and kisses her on the cheek. The audience applauds. Tina is crying. She begins to sing.
Suddenly she begins to perform and all of her power and energy come
out. Note shots of her legs--she moves
with power and grace across the stage.
People in the audience stand and move with the music. Cut to newspaper photo of Ike and Tina
moving through the crunch of fans. “Ike
and Tina Climb the Charts” reads the headline.
7. The Good Life in Hollywood.
The gang at Ike’s house. Tina’s mother can’t bear the thought of all
the money they have made from the hit record.
She loves money. One of the
women in the group comments that Tina hasn’t seen any of that money. Then Tina notices Ike flirting with one of
the young women. When she complains
about this behavior to her Mother, Mom says, don’t worry--you’re lucky because you
have a good man, etc.
Suddenly Lorraine pulls up with two
little boys. “I hear you’re playing
Daddy--the family man--” Ike tries to
reason with her, but she drives away.
He screams epithets at her, but to no avail. Reaction shot of Tina kneeling down with the two boys, who can’t
figure out what is happening. Ike walks
past them muttering, “What am I going to do with two more kids?” Tina tries to welcome the boys and calm them
down.
Color home movies of the early days
in Hollywood--the pink Cadillac, the fur coats, the new house, the pool, the
expensive birthday parties, and then an abrupt cut to the 1964 KDSC television
interview (recreating black and white footage from that historic
interview). Ike is sitting on the right
of the frame, wearing dark glasses (in his Malcolm X phase), and Tina is
reflected in the mirror and looking at the interviewer. Ike is in control here, and we can see the
pressure Tina feels. Everything she
says reflects her obeisance to Ike--”Ike says,” “Ike has written some great
songs,” etc. When the interviewer tries
to get Ike to answer a question, Ike walks out. Tina smiles awkwardly and tries to carry off the interview.
8. The Ugly Face of Abuse.
Exterior of the Tuner house. Tina and some of the other women fro the
group are frolicking in the pool.
Inside, where Ike is working in the recording studio, we see him snort
some cocaine. “I got to write these
songs!” he complains. He bursts out
with one complaint after the other. He
is oppressed by all sorts of demons.
Then Tina slips up, and notes that many of his songs are beginning to
sound alike. He stalks toward her and
confronts her. Note how both are in the
frame--and his threatening side is revealed.
He slaps her.
Reaction shot of Ike. He hunches his shoulders like a boxer.
From his pov we see Tina retreat
across the sofa. She falls behind
it. He enters the
frame from the left
and punches her twice. He begins
dragging her down the hall.
The three women in the pool are
stunned, silent.
Ike drags her to the bedroom.
The two boys, looking on, stand in
their open door by the hallway. Ike
drags her past
them.
Reaction shot of Tina as she is
being dragged.
Her point of view, looking up at
Ike, as he looks back toward her.
Reaction shot of Tina as she is
being dragged.
Wide shot of the two as he pulls her
into their bedroom.
High angle of the bedroom, as he
hurls her against the bed.
Low angle shot of Ike. “Guess you going to leave me now.”
High angle of Tina on the
floor. She is sobbing.
Low angle of Ike.
High angle of Tina on the floor.
Wide shot of the hallway looking
into the bedroom. Ike begins to walk
away. He turns
around: “Keep your
behind in there.”
Two boys, and their older brother,
standing in the doorway.
Ike closes the door to the bedroom.
“Everything all right. Me and your momma just
talking. Go on.”
Reaction shot of the boys. Ike’s body in the frame. “I said go on.” The boys go back into
their room as he walks
past in the hall.
One of the women, Jackie, comes into
the bedroom. Tina begins to make
excuses for Ike. “He’s got a lot of
worries right now. I know he’s
sorry.” Jackie says, “Is he sorry for
all those other times.” But Tina tells
her to stop this criticism. “Can’t
nobody understand. We’ve got a lot of
pressure right now. Money. Music ain’t right. And what did I do? I
insult him when I know he tried?” But
Jackie says, “You can’t keep hiding black eyes from us pretending like
nothing’s happening.” But Tina remains
unconvinced. “Me and him are going to
get better.” Scene ends with high angle
of the bedroom. Then dissolve to Tina
alone on the bed. Ike sneaks in and
lays a present, gift-wrapped, on the bed next to her. Cut to a shot later. She
lays on the bed and stares at the package.
9. Tina’s star rises and Ike snatches it back.
Ike and Tina are introduced for a
television program. Notice the new
getup for Ike--the gray Beatles-type coat, the thick mop of hair, the
goatee. Tina asserts they are living
the “family values” dream--all one big happy family. Ike is his usual remote and intimidating self. After the big number, Tina is approached in
the dressing room by Phil Specter, a music producer. Ike enters the frame and says, “Anything you got go say to her
you can say to me.” But Specter’s
request is: “I want to record a song with Tina.” We can see her in the mirror looking submissive and
uncomfortable. Ike tells Specter to
“come into my office.”
Cut to the recording studio in Los
Angeles, 1966, when Tina produced “A River Deep.” Various angles on of the recording booth, Tina with headset on as
she sings, shots of the orchestra playing live. It’s a great number.
Cut to Ike listening in his living
room. As usual, he is surrounded by any
number of hangers on. Tina walks
in. She looks uncomfortable. Ike has another unusual outfit on--the
Maoist look? He goes over to Tina and
tells her the song was very good. She
nervously accepts his praise. He
“shakes” her hand. Then he walks away.
Coffee shop in Los Angeles. Ike and Tina are in the booth with two
members of the troupe. Here comes two
white kids to ask for “Miss Turner’s” autograph. Ike doesn’t like the attention she gets. He calls for the waitress to bring over a
cake, then begins to play a game with it--wanting to “feed” Tina some of the
cake. When she resists, he forces a
piece of cake into her face. Then when
the other woman with them, Jackie,
jumps up and confronts Ike, he stands up and whacks her against the side
of her face and knocks her down. “Come
on, bitch!” he yells. “It’s all right!”
Tina screams. “No, it isn’t. You’re a dead woman if you stay here!” Then
Jackie runs out of the restaurant.
Night scene. Tina runs away with her children. She calls her mother and asks if she can
stay with the kids. Tina is desperate. She is running for her life. Cut to shot of Tina and the kids on the
Greyhound bus. She is singing “This
little light of mine,” softly to the kids.
Tina’s mother gets another phone
call late at night--from Ike. Cut to a
bus stop in the rain. Tina gets back on
the bus but doesn’t see her two other boys.
Then she spots Ike putting them in the back of his black Cadillac. He stands there and holds the door open for
her. “I haven’t got time for this foolishness, now,” he says. When she resists, he says, “You’d better get
your ass in this car, woman.” He slaps
her lightly a few times. “Get in the
car!”
10. The End of the Road.
London, 1968. Ike and Tina perform “Proud Mary” at a
theater. A dramatic performance--she
begins by speaking a prelude, and eventually bursts into dynamic action. The audience loves it. “Rolling . . . rolling . . . rolling on the
river.” This is classic Tina Turner. Ike has a backup singer roll in the
song. Suddenly the song bursts into
high gear. Cuts emphasize the power of
her movements,.
The song continues as scenes change
to other concert dates, 1971, then Tina picking Ike off the floor in his home
studio (knocked out on drugs?), then a 1974 concert. At the end of the montage, Tina takes her bows, the crowd chants
“Tina!” and when Tina tries to acknowledge Ike, the crowd simply continues
their chant. Reaction shot of Ike shows
him realizing he is the background man.
Ike and Tina at home with the
groupies. Ike walks around openly
sniffing cocaine. Now he is in his
Afro-hairstyle period. Tina is
rehearsing “Nutbush” in the recording booth.
“What the fuck you doing in there!”
He continues to rant on and on.
She tries again. Again he stops
her. He curses at her for not singing
the song the way he wants her to sing it.
He keeps ranting about his dissatisfaction with her work. Finally he asks everyone to leave them
alone. He goes into the booth, hits her
violently, and then rapes her. Cut to
Tina behind the glass and water of a large aquarium. She appears to be under water--her face is blank, dead. Ike ejaculates quickly and then
withdraws. Mood music up.
Dissolve to a blurred image. Then into focus on Tina in close-up. She has a black eye. She begins to put on makeup, but she draws
the eyebrow liner on her forehead instead of her eyebrows. Apparently she is in a dressing room before
a show. One of the other women notice
her behavior, checks her dressing kit, and finds an empty pill bottle.
Cut to ambulance. Ike bends over her, as if to comfort
her. But at one point he says, “If you
don’t make it, I’ll kill you. You hear
me, bitch.”
Cut to close shot of Tina in the
hospital room. Jackie, the woman who
ran out of the restaurant after Ike slapped her, steps in. She invites Tina to stay with her. “I’m still your friend.”
11. Tina Looks in Life’s Mirror and Leaves Ike.
Tina returns home from the
hospital. The house is filled with
groupies, and Ike is openly flirting with one of the women. He comes up to Tina and says,
“Next time you want to take some time
off, you think of some others. Goddamn,
we’re on the road, and you’re going to fuck around and end up in the hospital,
for what, for nothing? Then you run up
this doctor bill. You cost me a whole
lot of money. We got some new material,
and I want you to come up with some new routines, etc., etc.
When
he’s finally finished with his diatribe, she looks up at him and says, “Sure,
Ike.”
Tina visits Jackie,
unannounced. She welcomes Tina with
open arms. Tina avoids the obvious at
first--she says, “When I’m up on stage, I’m fine.” Suddenly the two women launch into first-class impressions of Ike
at his worst--one diatribe after the other.
Then they become quiet. Jackie
goes over to Tina, who breaks down. “I
know what’s it like to have your own blood walk out on you. I just can’t walk out.” Jackie takes her over to a small shrine in
her apartment. Jackie has converted to
Buddhism. “Just follow me, Anna.” She introduces Tina to the idea of
chanting. “When you chant, you can see
things clearly. It’s like life’s
mirror.” Then she leads Tina in a
chant.
Cut to Tina chanting before a
concert. Then at home, at a small
shrine. Ike tries to drawn her out by
turning up the music he’s listening to.
Ike and Tina on a plane on their way
to a concert in Texas. On the ground
they get into a white Cadillac, and Ike is angry that Tina has been resisting
his control. He smacks her six times to
make his point. Then he takes off a
boat and prepares to use that to bludgeon her.
Suddenly she lights back--biting him, punching him, kicking him in the
groin.
The two arrive at their hotel. Both are bloodied and sullen. In the hotel Ike begins taking drugs
immediately. Tina in the bathroom. She looks at herself in the mirror. [Prof. Yahnke says, “Write this down!] Outside the bathroom, Ike is dead to the
world. Music up. Point of view tracking shot away from Ike,
and Tina is off.
Outside the hotel she runs for her
life (toward camera--as camera moves in slightly to accentuate the
movement). Music is pounding. She runs across a busy highway and enters
the Ramada Inn. She is still bloody,
dirty, messy. She goes up the clerk and
says, “I need to speak to your manager.”
She tells him, “I’m Tina Turner.
My husband and I just had a fight.
I’m supposed to open at the Academy tonight. I have 36 cents and a Mobil card, but if you give me a room I
swear I will pay you back.” His
response: “Miss Turner, I would be honored.”
12. He Can Take Everything, but he Can’t Take My
Name.
Interior of courtroom. Tina is on one side with her lawyer. Camera moves tight to show Ike talking a
mile a minute. He goes over his version
of history--he was the genius behind Ike and Tina Turner. “$750,000 she cost me. What I’ve got left, I’ve got some clothes,
I’ve got some jewelry, the rest I’ve got tied up in investments, I ain’t got
nothing else.” Tina’s lawyer notes that
his client doesn’t want to sue for a financial settlement. The judge says, “You’ll walk out of here
with nothing” “--except my name,” Tina
says. “I’ll give up all that other
stuff, but only if I get to keep my name.
I worked too hard for it.” Ike
disagrees. The judge agrees with her.
Outside the court, two of Tina’s
boys celebrate with her. Ike rages at
her in the background.
Tina set to open a new act, without
Ike, at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco.
In the audience is a music producer.
He is duly impressed.
Afterwards,
Tina talks to this fellow, who is obviously interested in supporting her
career.
Tina leaves a recording studio after
completing some work. In the parking
lot there sits Ike, now in his Jesse Jackson phase. He shows her some flowers.
“I need to talk to you.” She
tells him he can have two minutes. Then
she gets in his car. This sets up
reverse angle shots, from each character’s pov. Ike tells her he is in financial trouble and that he has been
writing some new songs--one a song (he can’t remember the name) that he wrote
for her. “It’s a beautiful love
song.” He tries to sweet talk her one
more time. She wants to leave. “Hold on a second. I’ve got one more thing
to say to you. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. I miss you. I’m tired of this. This has gone on long enough and I want you
to come on home.” Reaction shot of
Tina. Back to her pov. There is desperation in his voice. “I gave up those narcotics. I’m going to try to right by you this
time.” When she starts to leave, he
pulls her back roughly. “I ain’t
through talking to you yet!” His eyes
wide, he tells her, “I made you! You’re
nothing without me and you’re going to be nothing without me!” Reaction shot of Tina. “I was wondering when
the old Ike Turner was going to show up.”
She hurls the flowers on the seat and slams his door so hard the window
shatters. She’s gone. Ike sits behind the wheel and mutters,
“That’s all right. I’m going to take
care of it. This shit ain’t over yet,
Anna Mae.”
13. Nam nyoho renge
kyo: the fruits of Tina’s Buddhist Faith.
Television interview with her new
music producer, who talks about a show at the Ritz in New York to showcase the
new Tina. She tells the interviewer
about her Buddhist faith. “Everything
in life is cause and effect. If there
is anything within you that needs to be changed, you do it, you change
it.”
Cut to scene at Tina’s home. Suddenly Ike, Jr., knocks on the door. He was beaten by Ike and has left home. Tina tells him she wants him to stay with
her. He tells her Ike has been saying
crazy stuff. “That man’s got a hit out
on you. Mama, he wants to hurt you.” Reaction shot of Tina. Dissolve to Tina chanting in front of her
home shrine. “Nyamo yho renge kyo . .
.”
Tina in her dressing room before the
big show at the Ritz. In slinks Ike,
who is carrying a gun. Shot shows Tina
in front of her mirror (we’ve seen that setup several times in the film.) He stands behind her. “Here I am as big and bold as shit. You thought you was going to get away from
me. You thought a nigger like me was
going to let you get away from me. You
can’t get away from me. You’re in here
(pointing at his head).” “I know you,”
she says. “You know me?” He takes the gun out from under his belt and
holds it on the dressing table in front of her. “I’ll tell you what I’m going to do.” Music up.
Cut to close shot of Tina in the
mirror.
Cut to close shot of Ike reflected
in the mirror. “Come on, I can’t hear
you.”
Cut to close shot of Tina. “That’s supposed to scare me?”
Cut to Ike reacting. Shot of Tina. “What are you going to do? Do what you want to do,
Ike. I don’t care.”
Shot of Ike. Tina says, “I’ve got a roomful of people who
have come to see me.
Shot of Tina. “They come to see me!”
Shot of Ike. Tina says, “So what are you going to do?”
Shot of Tina. “Shoot me?
Pistol whip me?”
Shot of Ike. He is deflated. He looks away, then back, then down.
Shot of Tina. She begins to stand up.
Cut to wide shot of the two (same
wide shot we began with). She leaves
the frame.
Cut to Tina walking down stairs
toward backstage.
Cut to Ike standing at the dressing
table. He looks at a card on some
flowers left for
Tina. We hear the announcer introduce Tina.
14. What’s Love Got to Do With It?
Cut to wide shot of audience and
stage in the Ritz. Here comes Tina to
sing, “What’s Love Got to Do With It?”
Various angles on of her performance.
She is dressed in a tight black dress.
Her hairpiece is a wild blonde lion’s mane. We see the trademark Tina Turner moves--leg shuffles, struts,
stepping out backwards. Shot of Ike
still standing in the dressing room.
Then we see him in the back of the house. He lights a cigarette and leaves. We see him outside in the rain.
He walks away from the camera.
Graphic up: “Ike Turner was later arrested for drug-related
charges. He was convicted and served
time in a California State Prison.” Back
to the concert hall. We see the real
Tina Turner standing with her back to the camera. Graphic up: “What’s Love... hit number one. Tina’s first solo album won four Grammy
Awards including record of the year.”
Another wide shot of the concert.
“Tina has become one of the world’s top recording artists. Her tours continue to break concert
attendance records worldwide.” Closer
shot of Tina. Then medium shot of her
having a great time with the audience.
She solicits the audience to sing part of the chorus. She is dressed in a tight white one-piece
pants and bodice. More close shots of
her performance. Ends with a shot of
her dancing on stage and smiling broadly--fade to black.
Summary written by Robert E. Yahnke
Professor, General College, Univ. of Minnesota
Copyright by Robert E. Yahnke, ©
2001
Permission granted for reprinting for
educational use only