Teyana Taylor is ready to show the world as one of her idols, Dionne Warwick, in an upcoming biopic. Taylor was handpicked by the “Walk On By” singer for her close resemblance to the star, and Warwick has been open about her excitement in potentially snagging the Madea’s Big Happy Family star for the part. And it looks like they are close or have finalized the deal per an interview Taylor recently did with Tamron Hall. “We’re already working on it,” she told the talk show host. “We’re in the building process right now. I always wanted to make sure I could lock in with any person that I would be playing.”
Taylor notes her love for Angela Bassett’s portrayal of Tina Turner in 1993’s What’s Love Got to Do With It and Jamie Foxx’s embodiment of Ray Charles in 2004’s Ray. “I miss when movies were like that, when you got to really get to know them and tap in,” she added. “I’ve always been a firm believer and stood on safety. She’s had a wonderful career, and I think right now is about making her feel as safe as possible to tell her story because a lot of these stories get misconstrued or dramatized to an extent. That’s not really where we want to go.”
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The film is being directed by Dave Wooley and David Heilbroner, narrated by Warwick, and blends archival footage with personal photographs and newsreels throughout her lengthy career. Also featured are interviews with Warwick’s sons, Damon and David Elliott, as well as music legends such as Burt Bacharach, Clive Davis, Snoop Dogg, Gloria Estefan, Barry Gibb, Berry Gordy, Elton John, Cissy Houston, Quincy Jones, Alicia Keys, Gladys Knight, Melissa Manchester, Olivia Newton-John, Smokey Robinson, Carlos Santana, Valerie Simpson, and Stevie Wonder.
“I’m so excited about it, we’ve done I don’t know how many festivals, we were all over the place, and we did exceptionally well in all of them,” Warwick told Sherri Shepherd in October 2022. “We won a lot of the prizes which was very nice to hear and know people were interested in what Dionne Warwick was really all about.”
