Cocoa Lounge: Role Play

Biopics are all the rage these days.

With everyone from Beyonce' (Etta James) to Jesse L. Martin (Marvin Gaye) to Rita Marley (Bob Marley) in some stage of production on a film about the life of a celebrated star, Hollywood's fascination with the biopic isn't showing any sings of distress.

So, in our own personal salute to the trend, here are a few films we'd love to see get the greenlight. Dah-ling, these casting suggestions are powdered, lit and ready for their close-ups.



Queen Latifah as Pearl Bailey

Pearl Bailey climbed her way from vaudeville to starring roles in such film classics as St. Louis Blues and Carmen Jones, with a sassy performance style equivalent to that of a pared-down, black Mae West. Her long career included many fascinating anecdotes including an appointment by President Nixon as the "Ambassador of Love," and singing 'He'll Understand' at Joan Crawford's Funeral.

Only one bold, actress wtih jazz-pipes could come close to filling Bailey's shoes and Queen Latifah is just about the only woman for the job.




Kelly Rowland as Donna Summer

Donna Summer remains the highest of royalty in the disco genre: The Queen. During the explosive disco scene of the late 70s and early 80s, Summer's music fueled dance clubs around the country, including the infamous Club 54. The first African American ever to win a 'Rock' award at the Grammys, Donna Summer doesn't always get the respect she deserves in black music history; partly because disco is frequently lost in the shuffle between the post-Motown era and the birth of Hip Hop music.

Kelly Rowland has the look and energy of Donna Summer in her prime--not to mention the hair.




Ledisi as Dinah Washington

Dinah Tells a Joke, a rare moment recorded when Dinah Washington wasn't singing (included on the Queen: The Music of Dinah Washington compilation) is a most hilarious glimpse into the fun-loving personality that captured the hearts of jazz fans world-wide. With a voice that is one of the most distinctive in jazz music, Washington quickly skyrocketed to music success, but her life was tragically cut short, at the age of 39, from an overdoes of sleeping medication.

Married a whopping seven times, Dinah's romantic resume' could make Elizabeth Taylor blush.

Ledisi, like Washington, possesses an infectious onstage personality and her voice, like Washington's, is a very rare treasure.