Lifetime's Aaliyah Biopic ‘on hold' after the lead actress, Zendaya Coleman leaves the movie.
The Lifetime movie, “Aaliyah:Princess of R&B', was set to start filming this summer with a release date for this Fall. But, a rep for Lifetime announced that Zendaya will not play Aaliyah in the movie.
“We are sad Zendaya will no longer portray Aaliyah. Production is currently on hold,” Lifetime wrote in a statement posted on its Twitter account on Sunday. A network rep did not comment further.
Zendaya Coleman was cast as the lead role in the upcoming movie. The singer/actress was to record four of the songs that would have appeared in the movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The movie was titled Aaliyah: Princess of R&B, was to begin filming over the summer with a fall premiere date. The script was based on the book Aaliyah: More than a Woman, by Christopher Farley.
After the movie was announced the family of Aaliyah fought against the making of the movie.
Lifetime “didn't reach out,” Aaliyah's cousin Jomo Hankerson told The New York Daily News in a June 24 story. He added that the family was seeing a lawyer about rights issues.
“We want a major studio release along the lines of ‘What's Love Got to Do with It,' the Tina Turner movie,” Hankerson explained to the paper.
With Zendaya backing out, it looks as though the Aaliyah family is getting what they want.
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