Zendaya lifts the lid on forthcoming Ronnie Spector biopic
Zendaya has opened up about the forthcoming Ronnie Spector biopic and has underlined her commitment to making the late rock and roll legend proud.
Appearing on The Jennifer Hudson Show in support of her new romantic thriller, The Drama, Zendaya was asked to elaborate on the A24 biopic, which was announced last year.
“Well, you know what it feels like,” Zendaya said to Hudson, who famously starred as Aretha Franklin in the 2021 music biopic, Respect.
“It means so much because they’ve called you to do it: It’s such a gift,” she added.
Spector passed away on January 12th, 2022, at age 78 after a short battle with cancer. The two became close in the years before her passing, with Zendaya sharing a picture of a Polaroid taken as far back as 2018.
Referring to the tragic passing of the Ronettes singer, Zendaya added, “I’m very sad that she’s not going to be able to be with us while we’re making this film, but it just puts a fire under me to want to do her even more justice and make her more proud.”
The Spider-Man actor went on, “She’s so important. The fact that, prior to that, I knew her music, but I didn’t know who she was, and I didn’t know her story, which I think is not fair.”
Touching upon the larger theme of the film, titled Be My Baby, Zendaya added, “For me, that is the most important thing is that we know her voice, but we know her voice,” distinguishing clearly between her musical vocals and her personal trajectory and perspective across an incredible career.
Zendaya finished, “I hope, fingers crossed, that it is up to her standards.”
The film is set to be based on Spector’s 1990 memoir Be My Baby: How I Survived Mascara, Miniskirts, and Madness, or My Life as a Fabulous Ronette. It will reportedly focus on her abusive marriage at the hands of convicted murderer Phil Spector, which she detailed at length in the autobiography.
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