I know many of you had your doubts about Alexandra Shipp playing the role of Aaliyah. And while some of you will never be happy with this casting, considering the family is not behind the Lifetime biopic, perhaps a picture of Shipp in the role might convince you that this movie will be worthwhile.
Today, Wendy Williams tweeted the first image of Alexandra playing the late R&B singer.
And then Lifetime sent out a press release with even more details.
“Before Beyoncé 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. 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.
Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B also stars:
Rachael Crawford and Sterling Jarvis as Aaliyah’s parents Diane and Mike Haughton;
A.J. Saudin (Degrassi: The Next Generation) as Aaliyah’s brother Rashad Haughton;
Lyriq Bent (Saw IV) as her uncle and music manager Barry Hankerson.
The film also stars Anthony Grant as Damon Dash,
Izaak Smith (Mirror, Mirror) as Timbaland,
Elise Neal (The Soul Man) as Gladys Knight and
Chattrisse Dolabaille (Home Away) as Missy Elliot.
I think this dude above here has got to be Damon Dash.
Interestingly, I did noticed that R. Kelly’s name was missing from the list of characters, which is interesting because original reports claimed they were going to touch on this relationship. But either someone’s lawyer got to the network or Lifetime had some type of moral awakening.
So, after seeing the pictures, are you more or less convinced?
“Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B” airs on Saturday, November 15.
