Aaliyah Movie Coming This Year?
Aaliyah fans may be surprised with a biopic in the form of a VH1 film in the near future.
Aaliyah died over 12 years ago in a plane crash at the age of 22. While XXL.com reported that her former manager and uncle, Barry Hankerson, spoke about his niece being featured in VH! bopic last year, an actress seems to be confirming the news.
Tristin Mays, the 23-year-old actress, took to her Instagram to speak about the arduous process in trying out for the role.
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"..Today, I can't be upset that I didn't book the role I worked so hard for. This may have been the most difficult, emotional, inspiring, and lengthy audition process I've ever experienced," Mays wrote on Instagram. "Getting the chance to portray someone I've always loved and admired so much was a blessing every single step of the way. I invested every ounce of my body mind and soul into this process and I can honestly say I'm proud of myself."
Mays went on to encourage herself in God, while continuing to hint about the Aaliyah project, that XXL reports will premiere in August.
"God definitely has something incredible in store for me. A huge thank you to everyone who believed in me and spoke up for me in the room," Mays wrote. "And a huge congratulations to everyone in the cast!#TheAaliyahStory."
This is not the first posthumous project that has been associated with the late singer. Drake, the 27-year-old chart-topping Canadian recording artist, was rumored to be executive producing the late singer's second posthumous album, according to HipHopDx.com in 2012.
Producer Noah "40″ Shebib opened up to Vibe magazine about how he and Drake became involved in creating a posthumous album for the superstar.
"Aaliyah's label, Blackground -- the Hankersons, her uncle and cousin -- came to me and said, if she was around, she'd want you to do this [posthumous] project," Shebib told Vibe magazine earlier this year. "I've been obsessed with Aaliyah forever, and I know Drake has his relationship with her. But that opportunity was mine. Drake said, 'Can I do it with you?' and I was like, 'Of course, we'll do it together.'"
One of Aaliyah's longtime friends and collaborators Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott previously disapproved of the idea of hearing an album full of unreleased vocals from the singer.
"We don't know what her reasoning for not putting those records out. Maybe she didn't feel like they were her best work," Elliot said on New York radio station Hot 97 last year. "We just don't want to tap into that, just spiritually something else you know ... very very touchy. Unless her parents came in and conducted that."
After hearing some of the negative reactions, Shebib decided to back away from the project.
"The world reacting to Drake's involvement so negatively, I just wanted nothing to do with it. That was a very sad experience for me," the producer previously told Vibe. "I was naïve to the politics surrounding Aaliyah's legacy and a bit ignorant to Timbaland's relationship and everybody else involved and how they'd feel."
