Biopic News

Liza Minelli’s forthcoming memoir has been optioned for a television adaptation through Warner Bros. TV. The memoir stems from 15 years of recorded conversations between Minnelli and her friend Michael Feinstein. Minelli has previously been portrayed in biopics of Judy Garland, Peter Allen, Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon, and Halston.

Though her life has inspired many films, including The Dirty Picture, Dirty Picture: Silk Sakkath Hot and Climax, an actual biopic of South Indian actress Silk Smitha has finally started production. Titled Silk Smitha - Queen of the South, the film will star Chandrika Ravi in the title role.  Silk Smitha was previously portrayed by Sheeva Rana in the biopic Shakeela.

El Set, a biopic of Egyptian icon Umm Kulthum, is currently in post-production. Starring Mona Zaki as the singer-actress, Kulthum was the first Arab to disseminate her work to the masses via radio, phonograph, cinema and television. Funded by Saudi Arabia’s “Big Time” Investment Fund, a sneak 18-minute peek of footage was unveiled during Morocco’s Marrakech Festival.