Paramount acquires Lee Daniels drama on jazz legend Billie Holiday

"One of the greatest jazz musicians of all time, Holiday spent much of her career being adored by fans across the globe, all while federal agents targeted her with an undercover sting operation aimed at prohibiting her from singing the controversial song 'Strange Fruit', read a sales announcement.

Paramount Pictures has bought the rights to an upcoming biopic on jazz icon Billie Holiday which will be directed by Lee Daniels. Titled "The United States vs Billie Holiday, the project was sold by Endeavor Content in an eight-figure deal out of Cannes virtual market, reported Variety.

The drama will follow the true story of the Federal Department of Narcotics targeting Holiday, to be played by Grammy winner Andra Day, with a sting operation. "One of the greatest jazz musicians of all time, Holiday spent much of her career being adored by fans across the globe, all while federal agents targeted her with an undercover sting operation aimed at prohibiting her from singing the controversial song 'Strange Fruit', read a sales announcement. The 1939 song is widely known as a "call to action that would herald the modern Civil Rights movement".

This will be Daniels' first feature film since "The Butler", which released in 2013. The writer-producer had since turned to the small screen with shows such as "Empire" and "Star". The film will also star Trevante Rhodes, Garrett Hedlund, and Natasha Lyonne.

Pulitzer-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks is writing the script and will use Johann Hari's "Chasing the Scream: The First & Last Days of the War on Drugs" as source material. Joe Roth and Jeff Kirschenbaum are attached to produce.

Earlier, Diana Ross played Holiday in a 1972 biopic and a 1986 Broadway play, "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill" paid tributes to the singer, whose real name was Eleanora Fagan.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)