The Addiction of Hope is an independent film starring Anne-Marie Johnson that speaks about resilience and reinvention that women of a certain age embrace to move forward in the final chapters of life. Anne-Marie Johnson has won awards and accolades for her performance. The film Addition of Hope will play for one night only on Friday, March 13th, at the TARA Theatre. Anne-Marie Johnson and Martin Gottlieb join us to speak about the film and its theatrical schedule.
Many of us watched Anne-Marie Johnson grow up on the screen. In this new role, as “Jo,” you play a woman, an actor, of a certain age, who is facing that final act in life. While you weren’t really a “child” actor, it feels like we’ve watched you grow up in your career. I asked Johnson how much she drew from her own life and the resilience necessary to be a working actor for over 40 years. Johnson speaks about being in the business for over forty years. She speaks about deciding early in her career to work in the industry in order to remain relevant.
In 2026, over 11,000 people a day will turn 65. It feels like we are all “Jo.” This is especially true for women. When your life is tied to titles like wife, mother, or boss, and those things are stripped away, there are lots of questions. I asked if Johnson had any advice for others facing this new normal. She speaks about being active with SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) early in her career. At the time, there was a focus on actors having healthcare and being able to retire. She began plotting her retirement at an early age.
I asked Martin Gottlieb, the director and screenwriter of The Addiction of Hope, why he chose to tell this story from a woman’s perspective. He speaks about women and African-American women specifically being marginalized and often not able to have access to all of the opportunities they should have.
The other theme in this movie is reinvention. We’ve seen Johnson reinvent herself into memorable characters such as Althea Tibbs from In The Heat of The Night. She effortlessly moved between film and television, including historical roles in Hollywood Shuffle and I’m Gonna Get You Sucka. She spoke about having visions as a young girl of having a career similar to Carol Burnett and Eve Arden. She spoke about training in comedy, music, theatre, and drama. She speaks about learning to pivot.
The Addiction of Hope has theatrical screenings across the country before it begins streaming across multiple platforms on April 7th.