A spokesperson from Fox Searchlight Pictures confirmed on Monday that the studio is teaming up with Moonlight director, Barry Jenkins to direct a biopic for the African-American choreographer Alvin Ailey.
What We Know:
- The biopic will be based partly on Jennifer Dunning’s biography “Alvin Ailey: A Life in Dance.” The studio purchased the rights to the biography and is also working with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, which controls the rights to Ailey’s choreography.
- According to IMBD, the script will be written by Julian Breece who’s worked on Ava DuVernay’s When They See Us. Alicia Keys is among the list of producers for the film.
- Jenkins took to Twitter to share the news saying how proud and humble he is to bring Ailey’s life to the big screen.
- Ailey is known for popularizing and revolutionizing African-American involvement in concert dance. He formed his own group, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1958. In 2014, President Barack Obama honored Ailey with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He died in 1989 at the age of 58 from AIDS-related complications.
The title of the biopic has not been announced and currently has no release date.
