We now have more details about the long-awaited Ronnie Spector biopic.
It's been known since 2020 that Zendaya has been tapped to play the legendary Ronettes lead singer, and A24 will be distributing. We now know that the production will be moving forward with Barry Jenkins (Moonlight, If Beale Street Could Talk) as director.
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Deadline reports Zendaya and Jenkins - who’d been looking to work together for some time - agreed on a version of Spector’s story that could immerse audiences in what the singer’s interactions with her abusive husband felt like rather than a traditional cradle to the grave biopic. Based on Spector’s 1990 memoir, Be My Baby, the flick will focus on Ronnie's life with Phil Spector: the star producer who was later convicted of murdering actor Lana Clarkson, in a court case that exposed a history of threats towards women.
The movie will be penned by Dave Kajganich, the screenwriter behind Luca Guadagnino’s A Bigger Splash, Suspiria, and Bones and All. (Originally, playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury was in talks to write the script.) A timeline for the movie’s production has not yet been announced.
A24 will produce along with Marc Platt, Adam Siegel, Mark Itkin, Tom Shelly, Adele Romanski, Mark Ceryak, and Zendaya. Jonathan Greenfield will executive produce. Before her passing in 2022, Ronnie Spector was also slated to be an executive producer on the film. Before her death, she handpicked Zendaya to portray her in her earlier years.
The Ronettes formed in 1959 and during their run, managed to place nine songs on the Billboard Hot 100: six of which became Top 40 hits. Among their hit songs are "Be My Baby", "Baby, I Love You", "(The Best Part of) Breakin' Up" and "Walking in the Rain". In 1964, the group released their only studio album, Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica. That year, the Rolling Stones were their opening act when they toured the UK. The Ronettes opened for the Beatles on their 1966 US tour, becoming the only girl group to tour with them, before splitting up in 1967. In the 1970s, the group was briefly revived as Ronnie Spector and the Ronettes.
Check out our selection of free stations streaming Ronettes music at Live365.com.
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Article Image: Photos of a young Ronnie Spector and Zendaya at a "Challengers" premiere event. (Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons, Image Press Agency via Depositphotos)
