Nickelodeon actress Alexandra Shipp NOW cast as Aaliyah for Lifetime biopic with Wendy Williams onboard as Exec ProducerPosted by Wilson Morales
July 18, 2014
Source: THR
The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Nickelodeon actress Alexandra Shipp has been cast to play singer Aaliyah, replacing Zendaya Coleman.
Not only that, but daytime talk show host Wendy Williams is onboard as an executive producer. She tweeted the following statement this morning, “I’m excited to exec produce the Aaliyah @lifetimetv movie w/ @DebraMChase. Prod starts later this month and @AlexShipppp will play Aaliyah.”
The sites states that Shipp takes over for Disney Channel star Zendaya Coleman, who was cast in the lead role as the R&B singer and exited the project in June. The actress and singer was to record four of the songs that would’ve appeared in the movie.
“We are sad Zendaya will no longer portray Aaliyah. Production is currently on hold,” is what Lifetime issued in a statement back on June 29.
Aaliyah, who topped the charts from 1994 to her death at just 22 years old in 2001, has yet to get the biopic treatment. This film, tentatively titled Aaliyah: Princess of R&B, will be based off of Christopher Farley‘s best-selling biography Aaliyah: More Than a Woman.
The film is being produced by Aaliyah Productions Inc., with Howard Braunstein(The Informant!) and Debra Martin Chase (The Princess Diaries) serving as executive producers. Bradley Walsh (Turn the Beat Around) will direct from a script written by Michael Elliot (Brown Sugar).
Before Beyonce and before Rihanna, self-proclaimed “street but sweet” Aaliyah was poised to become a global icon with top-selling albums, a hot movie career and an adoring fan base. But behind the spotlight, Brooklyn-born, Detroit-raised Aaliyah Dana Haughton struggled to succeed in a tough business while staying grounded in the midst of her growing celebrity. The film follows the beautiful and talented performer’s inspirational journey, from her debut on “Star Search” at the age of ten to the challenges she faced during her rise to become the Princess of R&B. On August 25, 2001, at the height of her popularity, her life was tragically cut short when a plane carrying the singer and some of her video crew crashed after takeoff from a Bahamian runway. Although just 22-years-old at the time of her death, Aaliyah continues to lead a legacy as Billboard’s tenth most famous R&B artist of the past 25 years and one of the recording industry’s most successful artists in history.
Shipp is also schedule to star in Drumline: A New Beat, the TV movie follow-up to Nick Cannon‘s 2002 feature film Drumline. Among her TV credits include Nickelodeon’s House of Anubis as well as episodes of Switched at Birth, Awkward and Ray Donovan.
Journey to the Past
Check out these official photos of Alexandra Shipp as Aaliyah
