Diana Ross Age

Jurnee Smollet Rumored to Star as Florence Ballard in Singer's Biopic 'Blondie'

The last time this project and its cast were discussed here was back in November of last year at the old site; when Tambay reported Faith Evans would portray singer Florence Ballard in her big screen biopic. At the time, Taraji P. Henson was also rumored to have been offered the role of Diana Ross . Well now, it looks like both Evans and Henson are out of the picture.

Blondie: The Florence Ballard Story will be directed by Todd Turner , according to the film’s imdb. It currently shows as “in production” with Jurnee Smollet and Solange Knowles credited as “rumored” to star in the roles of Florence Ballard and Diana Ross, respectively.

Blondie is the story of when “The Supremes were the most successful female vocal group in history. Only Florence Ballard, the spunky teenager who founded the group, has remained silent. Until now.”

The film will be produced by Spirit of Life Films and shot in Atlanta, GA. Florence Ballard’s daughter, Michele Ballard-Chapman , will serve as co-producer.

There is no further information on the rest of the cast as of yet.

More updates soon to follow.

Jurnee would be a perfect choice for the role of Florence Ballard. Her acting is amazing. She is one of the best young black actresses in Hollywood. I believe she can do the late Florence Ballard justice. She might have to gain some weight and she can lip-sync to the original recordings.

Solange to play Diana Ross. I don’t think so. She might need a little more acting training to play a role like this. But Essence Atkins, I would love to see her play Diana Ross. Essence looks just like Diana and she have the acting chops to play her.

Kelly Rowland should play Mary Wilson. Also, Cuba Gooding Jr should play Berry Gordy Jr., Charlie Murphy should play Tommy Chapman, who was a former chauffeur for Motown and Florence’s husband/manager, John Legend should play Smokey Robinson, who helps the Supremes audition for Berry Gordy and Motown, and Anika Noni Rose or Jazmine Sullivan could play Cindy Birdsong.

By Joshua on August 6, 2011

I think that they are making a terrible mistake with casting.  Although I love Jurnee and think she is beautiful and amazing, I don’t know if she can sing, but I do believe that Faith hauntingly resembles Florence Ballard.  Solange, I don’t know about her acting, I really don’t care for her, but if they are going to cast Faith, they may as well cast someone near her age and that would be Taraji to play the role of Diana or one of Diana’s own daughters, Tracee, Chudney, or Rhonda.  Tracee has the eyes, mannerism, as does Diana’s other daughter Rhonda, eyes, and they know her stage presence and who she is, although, depending on the story line it may cause conflict of interest.  Essence Atkins I think looks like Diana Ross.  Tanya Blunt, who played in Sister Act, who sang with Lauryn Hill can definitely play Mary Wilson.  Also, speaking on the lines of Diana Ross, Lauryn Hill could play Miss Ross as well.  The pouting lips and she can act.  These females would draw a crowd to the film.  So I’‘ll have to wait and see how this pans out.

Beyonce's Master Cleanse Diet Fast Helped Her Lose 20 Pounds

Beyonce Knowles recently appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, along with members of the cast of the upcoming movie Dreamgirls. In the film, scheduled to be released Christmas day, Beyonce plays Deena Jones, a slender backup singer based on Diana Ross. Due to the widely varying age range of her character, Beyonce told Oprah that she turned to the Master Cleanse fast – a liquid diet – to help her shed pounds quickly.

“Normally they’d change your makeup or your clothes but I wanted to go the extra mile,” Beyonce is quoted as telling China Daily. “Back in the sixties, models like Twiggy were popular and I knew Deena would have been thin then, so even though I really love eating, it was necessary to lose weight really fast because we shot Deena at 16 and Deena at 36 two weeks apart.”

According to research, the “Master Cleanse” is a liquid diet that purports to cleanse and detoxify the body while reportedly stimulating healthy tissue growth. Also known as the “Master Cleanse Lemonade Fast,” the “Lemonade Diet,” or the “Lemonade Fast,” the liquid diet fast was popularized by a book named The Master Cleanse by Stanley Burroughs.

Though Beyonce said that she also ate vegetables during the 14 days that she followed the diet fast, the Master Cleanse fast has been described as consisting of “a concoction of fresh lime or lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper mixed with water,” that is consumed 6 – 12 times a day, along with an “herbal laxative tea… taken twice a day, and no other food is consumed.

Ebony

Diana Ross, A Biography

Diana Ross, an unauthorized biography

Ebony

Ebony