Watch the Trailer for Lee Daniels' Billie Holiday Biopic

From Town & Country

There's a very exciting biopic in the works. Here's what you should know about Lee Daniels's upcoming film about Billie Holiday.

Some serious talent is attached.

Singer Andra Day is set to play Holiday; Natasha Lyonne is signed on to portray Tallulah Bankhead; and Trevante Rhodes will appear as agent Jimmy Fletcher.

Behind the camera, Lee Daniels—the director of Precious and creator of Empire—is set to direct the film. "With the world’s eyes forced to look at the centuries-old oppression of Black people, I hope The United States Vs. Billie Holiday will add to this important conversation by shining a light on systemic racism and social injustice," Daniels recently told Variety. "I also feel that in this time of great reckoning it is essential we celebrate the life and artistry of an unsung Civil Rights warrior, Billie Holiday." (When it was first announced, the film was titled The United States Vs. Billie Holiday; now, it's being referred to as Untitled Lee Daniels Billie Holiday Film.)

It will focus on a lesser-known aspect of Holiday's life.

Rather than simply follow her career as a Jazz singer, this movie will tell the story of how agents at the Federal Department of Narcotics, lead by Harry Anslinger, targeted Holiday for years. He hired an undercover agent, Jimmy Fletcher, to track her, and would eventually set Holiday up in a sting operation after she was admitted to a hospital for liver and heart problems—an event that would lead to her death.

The film is based on Johann Hari's book Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs. Hari also wrote about Holiday's persecution in Politico. According to his reporting, Anslinger chose to target Holiday after she refused to stay silent about racial injustice; the Federal Bureau of Narcotics's first threat to her came after she performed "Strange Fruit," a song about lynching.

It's set to debut next year.

The premiere date has been set for February 12, 2021—mark your calendars.

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