Musician Yasiin Bey, formerly known as Mos Def, will play jazz legend Thelonious Monk in a biopic that will begin filming next Summer for Jupiter Rising Film.
Peter Lord Moreland is penning “Thelonious” which centers around Monk’s struggles for musical success, mental illness and the spiritual love triangle between his wife Nellie and one of the world’s richest women – Nica Rothschild.
However T.S. Monk, Thelonious’ son and the chairman and co-founder of Rhythm-A-Ning Entertainment which handles Thelonius’ estate, tells Pitchfork that the film is not authorized by the estate.
He goes on to tell the outlet in a statement: “This project and its announcement are totally unauthorized! I hate the script and I control the music in Thelonious’ catalog. There is no involvement by anyone in the Monk family with this project, and we actually condemn the effort.”
Source: PR Newswire