Despite the expressed disapproval from Aaliyah fans, family and friends, Lifetime keeps the ball moving with the production of their Aaliyah biopic, “Aaliyah: Princess of R&B.”
After the casting of Alexandra Shipp as the leading role of Aaliyah (after Zendaya Coleman’s departure), the Aaliyah chronicles continue as Lifetime fulfills the roles of Aaliyah’s musical mentors Timbaland and Missy Elliott among more. It has been recently announced by a network representative via TheWrap, Canadians Izaak Smith and Chattrisse Dolabaille have been recruited for the roles of Timbaland and Elliott.
Smith is an actor and dancer who was a contender in “So You Think You Can Dance: Canada.” He has also appeared in “Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightening Thief” and “Mirror Mirror.” Dolabaille is an aspiring actor, singer and dancer and is a newbie to Hollywood. Neither Smith nor Dolabaille have thorough experience in acting, yet they have been recruited to fill such big shoes. Both Timbaland and Elliott were hugely instrumental in Aaliyah’s career and shaped her artistry with the singer’s sophomore album “One In A Million.”
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Even though Aaliyah’s family has continued to disapprove the project, Lifetime fulfilled the roles of the late singer’s family as well. Rachael Crawford and Sterling Jarvis will play Aaliyah’s parents, Lyriq Bent will play Aaliyah’s uncle and president of her label Barry Hankerson and A.J. Saudin and Jesse Sukunda will play the younger and older versions of Aaliyah’s brother Rashad. It doesn’t stop there, the network has also casted Anthony Grant as Aaliyah’s then boyfriend Damon Dash.
Even though the biopic will be based off the 2001 book “Aaliyah: More Than A Woman,” we are not sure how this network biopic will play out being that the family isn’t involved to give insight. Also, the morals of the network are out of whack with the family’s deep disapproval. At the end of the day, we just want what is right and respectful for the beloved late ‘babygirl.’ We hope Lifetime does not lose sight of that.
In the meantime, watch a video of Chattrisse Dolabaille (casted as Missy Elliott) and her work-in-progress resume below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yju9Gh7ivbM
(Source: TheWrap)
