Zendaya Is in Talks to Play Ronnie Spector in Biopic

I really enjoyed her in Euphoria and had no idea who she was before then. I think she’s be great.

Interesting casting. I'm into this!

Who will play Phil?

I'll be very surprised if she manages to pull off Ronnie Spector's way of speaking. Ronnie is tiny and cute (though she's said to swear like a longshoreman). Zendaya is certainly pretty enough but she's chill and West coast.

I can see Shia LaBoeuf as Phil. He's apparently 5'7", which probably means 5'5".

Young lovers.

Philip.

Could Tim O'Tay do the mad genius of teen symphonies justice?

DL fave Ezra would probably delight in the role, but he's a bit too built.

R1 - you're gay I presume and never saw Greatest Showman?

I haven't seen her recent stuff - but she was meh in Greatest Showman.

Can she pull it off though?

Michael Cera for Phil.

Until the movie arrives, Ronnie's memoir is a terrific read.

Interesting casting.

She's perfect for this role.

gags, she has the talent of a burrito.

good casting

She can’t act. At all. But she’s so beautiful it doesn’t really matter.

Zendaya doesn’t give me Ronnie vibes. The eyes are too different.

Maybe Paul Dano as Phil.

I like the idea of Ezra Miller as Phil. Plus his height would offset Zandaya’s.

R6 all i see is Jim Parsons.

It should've been Janelle Monae. 🙄

I like Janelle Monae, but playing Ronnie Spector would have been weird, like Zoe Saldana playing Nina Simone weird. Ronnie personally approved Zendaya, so it makes sense they are going in this direction.

Zendaya's pussy gets a lot of pounding nonstop. That's how she snags all of these roles.

a tranny is more believable as ronnie than the talentless buffoon zendayayayayay.

Janelle Monae is too old to play Ronnie.

Thank God she's mixed race. Otherwise, she'd have no career.

Thank God Kaley Cuco reads white. Otherwise she'd have no career.

Ronnie Spector is who gets to decide who plays her in her biopic, not I.

Ronnie Spector is who gets to decide who plays her in her biopic, not I.

Ronnie Spector is who gets to decide who plays her in her biopic, not I.

Ronnie Spector is who gets to decide who plays her in her biopic, not I.

Ronnie Spector is who gets to decide who plays her in her biopic, not I.

What I dread is that Zendaya will probably insist on pulling a Zelwegger and do her own singing. Like her or not, Ronnie Spector's voice is unmistakable. Not so Zendaya's.

I imagine r26 with a red rubber stamp posting the same damn thing every time Zendaya's name is even hinted. Don't you have a Klan rally to bake cookies for?

[quote]It looked like the movie would take root at Fox last year, but the sale of that studio to Disney stopped its momentum.

Where's a mouse trap when you really need one?

That is an excellent idea r18.

Janelle Monae could play Darlene Love. If she's in the story......

No, Janelle could play LaLa Brooks of the Crystals.

R34: La La Brooks was even younger than Ronnie. She was like 13 doing Da do ron ron

LaLa was about 16 in 1963. She wasn't the first lead singer in The Crystals.

LaLa (second from left) doesn't even look the youngest here. Far right is Barbara Alston, the lead on "Uptown" etc.

LaLa pings so Janelle would be right at home.

I could see singer Alexandra Burke as Darlene.

Was that Darlene Love, r36?

I know it's the Ronnie Spector biopic, and we also have "Baby, I Love You," "Walking in the Rain," and "The Best Part of Breaking Up" to get to, but do you think they'd at least give us excerpts from "Da Doo Ron Ron" and "Then He Kissed Me" (which I like even more than "Be My Baby")?

[Quote] Was that Darlene Love, [R36]?

Darlene Love was the lead singer of the Blossoms. Spector used them on two Crystals hits, "He's a Rebel" and "He's Sure the Boy I Love." LaLa, who was a member of the Crystals, sang lead on "Then He Kissed Me," "Da Do Ron Ron" etc.

Darlene also sang on Be My Baby. So was Cher. Ronnie was the only Ronette that sang on the records.

Not quite true. Nedra sang lead on some album tracks, that came out under The Crystals name.

Once Spector moved his operations to Los Angeles, Darlene, Fanita James and a third member, often Jack Nitzsche's wife, Grazia (who was white), would sing background. Cher was Sonny's girlfriend/child bride. She wasn't a Spector mainstay.

I agree with R11 who said Michael Cera should play Phil Spector. He looks a lot like him and he's a great actor.

But do we want to see Michael Cera thrive?

Dano is certainly character-y enough for it.

Damn, I didn't think about Dano, but you're right, he would be better than Cera.

Ronnie's sister Estelle developed Schizophrenia. It could be a juicy part.

I never knew that the Ronnie Ronnette girls were bl/wt biracial. I always thought that they were Spanish for some reason.

Puerto Ricans speak Spanish, no?

Could Amandla and Zendaya play sisters?

Chloe and Halle for two of the Crystals.

Apropos of not much, I sat right smack in front of Ronnie Spector at a concert a couple years ago. One of the best nights of my life! Hearing her sing "Be My Baby" was simply awesome!

One of the strange things about Ronnie is how she suddenly developed a huge rack. I think those babies are only around 10-15 years old.

Well, shit. EBONY Magazine knew way back when!

The sisters' black heritage was more noticeable in Estelle.

Nedra, their coursin, could probably have claimed Native American. She's a regular of the 700 Club, I believe.

Shame they only had a few hits.

Zac Epron as Phil Spector for the win!

It wasn't Christmas Season until Darlene Love made her annual appearance singing "Baby Please Come Home (Christmas)" on "The Late Show With David Letterman." Rock on, Paul Schaeffer; rock on!

Jesse Eisenberg as Phil Spector

Agree with whoever mentioned Michael Cera. Perfect.

[Quote] Zac Epron as Phil Spector for the win!

I could easily see Zac calling his agent about it. He'd love to add Spector to his killers resume. He's certainly short enough for the role.

Zac for Sonny Bono. Jameela Jamil for Cher.

Halsey for Nedra Talley-Ross.

Storm Reid who also plays Zendayas sister on Euphoria will probably be in this too. She looks the part.

Storm Reid actually looks like one of the Vandellas.

Storm Reid sounds like a drag queen name

Alexandra Shipp looks like a Ronette

I doubt Zendaya would cast Shipp. It would be like Diana Ross touring with Jean Terrell.

I love the casting choices. It almost makes me wish that instead of a Marvel Cinematic Universe, we had a 1960s girl group cinematic universe (MARY!).

[quote] It almost makes me wish that instead of a Marvel Cinematic Universe, we had a 1960s girl group cinematic universe (MARY!).

What a great idea!

r71, that would be awesome

[Quote] (MARY!)

Weiss!

[quote] MARY!

Wilson!

[Quote] MARY!

Snake!

Timmy, Zac, Jesse, Michael, Paul: who is closest to Phil Spector's height (stated as 5'8"; by now, 5'5"?)

Timmy's 5"11" IIRC. How about the others? Should Tammy Cruise play current-day Phil (not that they look anything alike)?

I suspect they won't emphasize Spector's size as Zendaya ("Ronnie") is not short.

Who will play Nino Tempo? Illeana Douglas for April Stevens!

Can the Righteous Brothers be in the story?

Nicolas Hamilton for a Righteous brother!

R71, such a brilliant idea! It would be cool to have an LA/Laurel Canyon Universe, NY universe, Detroit Universe, Memphis Universe and London Universe. It still surprises me there hasn’t been a deep dive into 50/60’s girl groups/women singers.

As an aside, if a biopic was made about Tami Terrell, Janelle Monae would be a good choice to play her.

I don't see Tammi at all in Janelle. Janelle has cool eyes, Tammi was a live wire.

Not exactly '60s, but I've always thought Keke Palmer could play Bonnie Pointer.

Kiersey Clemons has more the right look for Tammi Terrell.

R83, I used to think the same, but with the right styling I feel should would nail it. Plus, Janelle Monae could do the vocals too.

Tammi was only 24 when she died. Janelle is too old, I think

Janelle Monae is an unremarkable singer.

They need to include Frankie Lymon, who, Ronnie said, was her musical inspiration . She met a couple times (once at the Apollo). Good cameo for someone, can't think of who could do it...

John Boyega.

I remember how she was bashed for not being black enough to play Aaliyah, till the bullies made her lose the job (which was a good thing because that biopic was a disaster).

And now she is doing great

And yet those who put Aaliyah on a pedestal as a black beauty never question why they do so. They'll praise those with Eurocentric features or who have work done to approximate those features...