Biopic
Page: 3
The upcoming, highly anticipated Michael Jackson biopic has found its Katherine Jackson. Best Man star Nia Long has been cast as the mother of the King of Pop. She will be joining the “Billie Jean” singer’s nephew, Jaafar Jackson, who was previously announced to portray his late uncle in the upcoming film, and Oscar nominee […]
A documentary following Celine Dion‘s battle with debilitating Stiff Person Syndrome will be the subject of an upcoming film entitled I Am: Celine Dion.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Amazon MGM has secured the worldwide rights to the chronicle of Dion’s now-two-year struggle with Moersch-Woltman Syndrome, which the singer’s sister, Claudette Dion, recently revealed has left the singer with “no control of her muscles.”
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
A synopsis of the documentary about the 55-year-old singer describes how it will follow her from “visiting her couture touring wardrobe and personal effects to spending time in the recording studio,” pulling back the curtain on the singer’s rarely-seen private life. “An emotional, energetic, and poetic love letter to music, I Am: Celine Dion captures more than a year of filming as the legendary singer navigates her journey toward living an open and authentic life amidst illness.”
Dion revealed in Dec. 2022 that she’d been diagnosed with the rare neurological disorder marked by uncontrolled and severe spasms that had caused difficulty walking and properly using her famously powerful vocal cords. She subsequently cancelled planned 2022 tour dates.
In her December update, her sister Claudette said that the hope is that Celine will be able to return to the stage, but that it is currently unclear how, or when, that might happen. “The vocal cords are muscles, but so is the heart,” said Claudette. “That’s what gets to me. Because it’s one in a million case, scientists don’t have that much research on the topic, because it didn’t affect that many people.”
In initially announcing her diagnosis in an Instagram video, Dion said that the previous few years had been, “such a challenge for me, the journey from discovering my condition to learning how to live with and manage it, but not to let it define me. As the road to resuming my performing career continues, I have realized how much I have missed it, of being able to see my fans. During this absence, I decided I wanted to document this part of my life, to try to raise awareness of this little-known condition, to help others who share this diagnosis.”
The film will stream on Prime Video, with no release date announced at press time.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Pharrell Williams’ life will be coming to the big screen in the most Pharrell way possible. A LEGO movie has been made of his life.
Hype Beast is reporting that the Virginia Beach, Va. creative has struck a deal with the game and media conglomerate. On Friday, Jan. 26, Skateboard P announced the news via his social media channels stating, “Who would’ve thought that playing with LEGO bricks as a kid would evolve into a movie about my life. It’s proof that you can do it too…”.
Titled Piece By Piece the movie is expected to defy “genres and expectations to transport audiences into a LEGO® world where anything is possible.”
This film will be directed by Morgan Neville (Won’t You Be My Neighbor?). The Grammy Award winner detailed how the project came to be in a formal statement. “Five years ago, Pharrell Williams approached me with the idea of helping him tell his story through LEGO animation,” he said. “It was one of those rare moments where I knew in a second that this was a journey I wanted to go on.”
Piece By Piece is slated for an Oct. 11, 2024 release date. It is unclear if the piece will truly be a biopic-style offering or will just be inspired by Pharrell Williams’ life.
—
Photo: Getty
All those hours building with Lego before he was famous has really paid off for Pharrell Williams. In fact, the two-time Oscar winning singer/songwriter/producer is parlaying his childhood fascination with the colorful bricks into the building blocks of his upcoming biopic, Piece by Piece.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
“Who would’ve thought that playing with Legos as a kid would evolve into a movie about my life,” Williams said in an Instagram post on Friday morning (Jan. 26). “It’s proof that anyone else can do it too,” he added along with a hashtag for the title of the film.
Pharrell further hyped the movie due out on Oct. 11 with an accompanying man’s march of progress illustration, except make it Lego, with blocky Williams evolving from a single flat 1×1 plate to a 1×1 brick, a golden minifigure and, finally, a camo-wearing minifig in the 13-time Grammy winner’s image.
A release from Focus Features announcing the film directed by Oscar-winner Morgan Neville (20 Feet From Stardom) describes the movie as an “unparalleled motion picture experience that captures the magic and brilliance of Pharrell Williams’ creative genius, one LEGO® brick at a time. Uninterested in making a traditional film about his life, Pharrell set out to tell his story in a way that would set audience’s imaginations free. Developed from his singular vision, Piece by Piece defies genres and expectations to transport audiences into a LEGO world where anything is possible.”
Neville is also a co-producer on the movie along with producer Caitrin Rogers, Williams, Mimi Valdés and Shani Saxon of Pharrell’s i am OTHER label/creative collective. Jill Wilfert and Keith Malone are executive producing for the LEGO Group.
“Five years ago, Pharrell Williams approached me with the idea of helping him tell his story through LEGO animation,” director Neville said in a statement. “It was one of those rare moments where I knew in a second that this was a journey I wanted to go on. I’m grateful to our partners at Focus Features and at the LEGO Group for their belief in our crazy mission. We assembled an incredible team of creative collaborators to help make a new type of film. I can’t wait for people to see it.”
Williams added that when he had “this crazy vision” to tell his story via LEGO, he could not have imagined a better partner than Neville. “He is a legend,” said Williams. “Grateful that Focus wanted to collaborate with us and I’m honored to share this with the world and bring people into my universe. Building with LEGO bricks encourages us to follow our imagination.”
See Pharrell’s post below.
Jaafar Jackson is making his late uncle, Michael Jackson, proud. The actor took to Instagram on Friday (Jan. 19) to share a photo performing the “Thriller” singer’s famous toe-stand pose. “The Journey Starts Monday,” he captioned the post, indicating that filming for the upcoming Michael biopic begins filming next week. In the film, Jafaar is […]
Just one week after confirming an April 18, 2025, release for the upcoming Michael Jackson biopic, the creators behind the film have cast their young King of Pop.
Nine-year-old actor Juliano Krue Valdi will portray Michael Jackson during his formative years in the Jackson 5 — the legendary family band behind such timeless hits as “I’ll Be There,” “ABC” and “I Want You Back.” Valdi is well-known across social media for his Michael Jackson impersonations, with videos of him flawlessly executing the moonwalk garnering thousands of likes and views. He joins Jackson’s nephew, Jaafar Jackson, who is set to play the older version of the late music icon.
“This opportunity is really important to me because Michael Jackson is the King of Pop, and he is very special in my heart. I’ve been dancing to his songs for five years now,” Valdi said in a statement. “He makes me feel really special and makes me feel good about myself. I love the energy of Michael Jackson.”
Titled Michael, the forthcoming biopic will be directed by Antoine Fuqua, the filmmaker behind 2001’s Oscar-winning Training Day and 2022’s Will Smith-starring Emancipation. In a statement regarding Valdi’s casting, Fuqua said: “Casting the role of the young Michael was more difficult than casting the adult role, because where do you find a child actor with the chops of the greatest entertainer who ever lived? In the end, that was our focus — talent — and we looked far and wide for an actor who could embody Michael’s spirit through his voice, his charisma, and his dance skills. Juliano’s undeniable, raw talent put him at the top of our list.”
Michael also features a slew of accomplished producers, including Graham King of the Oscar-winning Bohemian Rhapsody and John Branca and Jon McClain, co-executors of Jackson’s estate. John Logan, a Tony winner and three-time Oscar nominee, wrote the script. Michael is set to survey Jackson’s life and historic four-decade career. Principal photography begins next week (Jan. 22).
Michael Jackson is one of the most successful artists of all time. As a soloist, he earned 13 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hits, including “Billie Jean” (seven weeks), “Rock With You” (four weeks) and “Black or White” (seven weeks). Over on the Billboard 200, the music legend score six No. 1 albums, including 1982’s Thriller (37 weeks), 1987’s Bad (six weeks) and 1991’s Dangerous (four weeks).
The first trailer for director Sam Taylor-Johnson’s upcoming Amy Winehouse biopic, Back to Black, dropped on Thursday morning (Jan. 11), in which Industry co-star Marisa Abela fully embodies the brightly burning, troubled British R&B singer who died in 2011 at 27 of an accidental alcohol overdose after years of substance use struggles.
The 70-second trailer is cued to the title track from Winehouse’s second, and final, studio album, playing out over the beloved song co-written by the singer and album producer Mark Ronson. “I don’t write songs to be famous, I wrote songs because I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t,” Abela says in an interview as Winehouse in the opening shot of the preview in which the up-and-coming actress perfectly captures the Grammy-winning star’s distinctive London accent.
As a crowd shouts “Amy, Amy, Amy!,” the camera focuses in on a shot of Winehouse from backstage — with the singer’s distinctive, towering beehive hairdo, glittering short dress and cat-eye makeup on full display — before cutting to a shot of a pre-fame Winehouse strutting confidently down a Camden street smoking a cigarette and listening to music.
The clip then turns to Winehouse beginning to assemble her iconic stage look — including her many tattoos — and spotting future ex-husband and partner in debauchery Blake Fielder-Civil (Jack O’Connell) in an audience as the singer begins her ascent. “You gotta remember, I ain’t no Spice Girl,” Winehouse says as the chronicle of her meteoric rise to fame becomes increasingly hectic.
The Studio Canal film written by Matt Greenhalgh (Nowhere Boy) was made with the support of the Winehouse estate, Universal Music Group and Sony Music Publishing and will feature a number of the singer’s most beloved hits.
The trailer’s description promises that the movie will be a “celebration of the most iconic – and much missed – homegrown star of the 21st century… painting a vivid, vibrant picture of the Camden streets she called home and capturing the struggles of global fame… [and honoring] Amy’s artistry, wit, and honesty, as well as trying to understand her demons. An unflinching look at the modern celebrity machine and a powerful tribute to a once-in-a-generation talent.”
Back to Black will open in the U.S. on May 10.
Watch the Back to Black trailer below.
[embedded content]
HipHopWired Featured Video
The immigration ordeal that 21 Savage endured back in 2019 leading to his arrest will get a stylistic depiction via film starring actors Donald Glover and Caleb McLaughlin. Both actors will portray 21 Savage at various stages of his life and a new trailer shows off the pair, face tattoos and all.
Stylized on YouTube as the american dream: the 21 savage story, the trailer for the film, directed by Stephen Glover, Jamal Olori, Fam Udeorji, and Luis Perez, opens with Donald Glover, donning dreadlocks, being arrested by ICE officials and hauled off to prison. As the clip progresses, Caleb McLaughlin, playing the younger version of 21, is seen facing off with the rapper inside an interrogation room, displaying 21 delivering a new song.
Further in the clip, actress Gail Bean, apparently playing a family member of 21, speaks to McLaughlin in character, and another scene shows popular social media star Druski bullying the rapper. Later in the trailer, Glover depicts in a scene how 21 arrived at his stage name while in a recording studio.
Written by Jamal Olori and Stephen Glover, the film does not yet have a release date but is created in conjunction with Lionsgate, Epic Records, and 21 Savage’s Slaughter Gang imprint. The film also stars Jabari Banks, Chad Lindberg, Victoria Pedretti, Young Mazino, and Natasha Lyonne.
One can imagine with the Glover brothers involved, the film will take twists and turns outside of a normal biopic. Check out the trailer below.
[embedded content]
—
Photo: Getty
Timothée Chalamet says he’s been given access to a ton of unreleased Bob Dylan music in preparation for his role in an upcoming biopic about the iconic singer-songwriter.
During an interview with Happy Sad Confused’s Josh Horowitz, the Wonka star revealed that Dylan’s longtime manager, Jeff Rosen, sent him a 12-hour playlist of unreleased songs by the legendary artist, recorded between 1959 and 1964. Rosen is serving as a producer on the forthcoming film, titled A Complete Unknown.
“This might earn the ire and wrath of a lot of Bob fans, rightfully,” Chalamet told Horowitz. “But he sent me like a 12-hour playlist of unreleased Bob stuff from like 1959 to ’64. I feel like I’m holding onto gold or something.”
The Dune actor pointed out that some of the music is already available to fans through such bootlegs as The Minnesota Tapes.
A Complete Unknown stars Chalamet as Dylan, Benedict Cumberbatch as Pete Seeger, Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez, and Elle Fanning in an unspecified role. Woody Guthrie will also be portrayed in the movie, though the actor cast for the role has not yet been announced.
The biopic, directed by James Mangold, is scheduled to begin production in August. The project is based on Elijah Wald’s book Dylan Goes Electric and a script from Jay Cocks.
Mangold previously confirmed that Chalamet will do his own singing in the forthcoming Searchlight Pictures film. During an interview with Collider at London’s Star Wars Celebration in early April, the director was asked whether the actor would do his own crooning in the movie, instead of dubbing in Dylan’s voice. Mangold replied, “Of course!”
“It’s such an amazing time in American culture,” Mangold said when asked what drew him to the Dylan film. “The story of a young, 19-year-old Bob Dylan coming to New York with like two dollars in his pocket and becoming a worldwide sensation within three years — first being embraced into the family of folk music in New York and then, of course, kind of outrunning them at a certain point as his star rises so beyond belief. It’s such an interesting true story and about such an interesting moment in the American scene.”
Bob Marley’s legendary life and career will be captured in the forthcoming film Bob Marley: One Love, and in a new clip shared on Monday (Dec. 4), the late reggae star’s son, Ziggy Marley, gives actor Kingsley Ben-Adir the stamp of approval for his portrayal of his father. “In the audition, I saw Kingsley, who plays […]