‘The High Note’ will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on Aug. 11. HollywoodLife has an EXCLUSIVE behind-the-scenes video of Dakota Johnson, Tracee Ellis Ross, and more talking about their characters and the script.
The High Note follows Grace Davis, a superstar with both talent and an ego, and Maggie, Grace’s personal assistant. Maggie asprires to be a music producer, and Grace’s manager presents her with a choice that could change her career. Maggie and Grace team up with a plan that could change both of their lives.
“My first impressions of Maggie… she’s really intelligent and talented, super ambitious, and full of dreams and kindness,” Dakota Johnson says in our EXCLUSIVE video. “Reading the script, I never felt like she was compromised or selling herself short. Even when Maggie wins, she loses again because it’s not a real win. You don’t get to just show up one day and win. It’s always a hustle.”
Director Nisha Ganatra adds, “She has to take a risk to sort of step out from being the starts she’s hiding behind and follow her own dreams.” Nisha also admits that she cast “Tracee Ellis Ross without having heard her sing yet. We were just so overcome by her talent and her ability but also [felt] a huge relief.”
Tracee is very familiar with the music business. After all, her mother is the Diana Ross. “I come from a legacy of singing. Obviously, Grace Davis is nothing like my mom, but it is a world that I know,” Tracee says. Her co-star, Kelvin Harrison Jr., says that what he and Tracee “struggled” with was trusting themselves and just having fun.
Getting the chance to work with Tracee was an amazing experience for Dakota. “Tracee is really incredible. She is super talented and super smart and super kind and has really transformed into a full-blown icon,” Dakota raves.
The movie also stars Ice Cube and June Diane Raphael. The High Note is also available on Digital.