Dec 5, 2005 — By Tatiana Siegel and Borys Kit

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - R&B singer Mary J. Blige is attached to make her feature starring debut in a movie about jazz chanteuse Nina Simone.

The MTV Films/Paramount Pictures project will chronicle Simone's ascent to stardom and her relationship with Paris-based manager Clifton Henderson.
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Simone, known as the high priestess of soul, rose to fame in the '60s with signature jazz ballads and such powerful protest songs as "Mississippi Goddam" and "To Be Young, Gifted, and Black," an anthem of the civil rights movement. In 1974, the chanteuse went into exile, eventually ending up in Paris, where she died in 2003.

Blige is gearing up for the December 20 release of her album, "The Breakthrough," a follow-up to 2003's "Love and Life," which has sold nearly one million copies in the United States.

-Reuters

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