A couple days ago, Whoopi was seen exiting from the set of the new live-action
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The very talented entertainer, who has won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award, had many people scratching their heads as to whom she might be playing. The only possible clues was that she was wearing a large, crazy-haired wig, and a jumpsuit covered up her character's wardrobe.
But today, I was contacted by a source,
KrispinWah, who informed me that Whoopi Goldberg ("Ghost") will be playing
Bernadette Thompson, an editor at Channel 6 News and more importantly, April O'Neil (Megan Fox) and Vernon Fenwick's (Will Arnett) boss.
Right away, fans of the the popular 1987 animated series should be able to recognize that name... sort of. See, in that series, April O'Neil's boss was Burne Thompson (voiced by Pat Fraley & Townsend Coleman). So, for Michael Bay's
TMNT the character will be switching genders, and I'm sure she'll be referred to as Burne/Bern, short for Bernadette.
In the animated series, the character, along with the cameraman, Vernon Fenwick, would constantly blame crimes in New York City on the Turtles. He clearly didn't care for them, and at times resembles J. Jonah Jameson. Even though he wasn't a fan of the Turtles, he didn't allow his feelings to prevent April from reporting on their heroics.
NINJA TURTLES will be directed by Jonathan Liebesman ("Wrath of the Titans"), and produced by Michael Bay ("The Rock"). The script was written by Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec, based on characters created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. The cast includes: Megan Fox as April O'Neil, Alan Ritchson as Raphael, Noel Fisher as Michelangelo, Danny Woodburn as Splinter, Jeremy Howard as Donatello, Pete Ploszek as Leonardo, and Will Arnett as April's cameraman. It lands in theaters June 6th, 2014.