Hollywood’s musical biopic fever is, once again, in full swing. Buzz has never been louder for Sam Mendes’s ambitious Fab Four biopic – a quartet of films from the perspective of each Beatle – even with the release date still being three years away. Meanwhile, although Timothée Chalamet might not have taken home the Oscar for his lauded performance as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown, pundits are already tipping The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White for next year’s prize for his turn as Bruce Springsteen in the forthcoming Deliver Me From Nowhere.
But amid the discourse around how much Paul Mescal may or may not look like McCartney and whether White can nail those gravelly vocals, two other recent biopic announcements – among the slate’s most exciting yet – risk being drowned out despite their considerable cultural significance.
Last week, it was confirmed that Zendaya will star as Ronnie Spector, the iconic lead singer of 60s girl group The Ronettes in the long-awaited biopic Be My Baby for A24, where she’ll also take on a producer role. “Ronnie, being able to know you is one of the greatest honors of my life” wrote Zendaya in an Instagram tribute after the singer’s death in 2022. “Thank you for sharing your life with me … I hope to make you proud.” Barry Jenkins will direct the film, based on Spector’s 1990 memoir, in which her troubled relationship with the producer Phil Spector looms large.
Also revealed is that Lizzo is set to play the trailblazing gospel and blues musician Sister Rosetta Tharpe in a biopic for Amazon – finally bringing to the screen a pioneer as cinematically unsung as she has been in history. Tharpe’s innovative, electric guitar-strapped style was instrumental in defining the sound of American rock and influenced a generation of stars including Elvis, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Keith Richards and Johnny Cash. Lizzo will also produce the film which promises to give Tharpe’s legacy as the “godmother of Rock n Roll” its rightful due.
“There were no auditions for Sister Rosetta Tharpe,” wrote Lizzo in an impassioned Instagram post. “Because this is a film I’ve been producing for years, fighting for her story to get told … This is my baby, my passion – because Rosetta deserves. The Godmother of Rock n Roll is in good hands.”
Sure, these films finally getting the greenlight may be part of Hollywood’s ongoing obsession with the stories of musical titans. But they could deliver an overdue celebration of groundbreaking Black female artists who changed music profoundly, something beyond what Hollywood has offered up recently. It heralds a powerful and much-needed turn amid a parade of biopics dominated by widely celebrated white male artists whose legacies continue to endure.
