'Weather' Report
Janet Jackson will play Lena Horne in ABC biopic. She'll re-record the torch singer's tunes for the TV movie by Gary Susman



HORNE'S A'PLENTY Jackson will re-record Horne's tunes

Looks like Janet Jackson is expecting some stormy weather. Variety reports that the singer-actress will pay tribute to another screen star-pop vocal icon: Lena Horne. She'll star as Horne in a biopic for ABC, to be produced by the ''Chicago'' team of Neil Meron and Craig Zadan. And instead of lip-synching Horne's hits, Jackson will re-record them.

Jackson had apparently long wanted to make a biopic of Horne, who starred in the classic movie musicals ''Stormy Weather'' and ''Cabin in the Sky,'' and whose career was marked by battles against racism and McCarthyism. Having recorded a song for the ''Chicago'' soundtrack, Jackson expressed her desire to Zadan and Meron, who knew ABC had optioned Horne's autobiography, ''Lena.'' Quinn Taylor, the ABC executive in charge of movies and miniseries, jumped at the chance to cast Jackson, even though she hasn't acted on TV since her child-star days on ''Good Times'' and ''Diff'rent Strokes,'' and hasn't played drama since her starring role in John Singleton's ''Poetic Justice'' a decade ago. ''I can't think of more ideal casting,'' Taylor told Variety. ''Janet Jackson and Lena Horne -- it's like peanut butter and jelly.'' No word on what Horne, who is 86, thinks of ABC's sandwich plans.

Trivia note: Horne played Glinda the Good Witch in the 1978 film version of the Broadway musical ''The Wiz,'' costarring opposite Janet's brother Michael, who played the Scarecrow.

(Posted:09/03/03)

sosgemini said:

Don't they mean Dorothy Dandridge? Until Halle beat her to it.

lord... Diana Ross, Halle Berry, Janet Jackson... when are the great black female entertainers going to rate getting real actresses to play them?


who's going to play Aretha Franklin? Raven Simone?

AaronSuperior said:

Lena Horne--very "big," right? Janet would be perfect these days!

sosgemini said:

Lena Horne at 86? So that means she's now looking about 50?? I swear, that woman NEVER ages. . .

i remember when they were talking about the dorothy dandridge movie. every black actress seemed to want it. including janet, who based her look for her 24/7 video on dorothy dandridge. halle berry got it and she so deserved it. not only did she executive produce it, she has lived the life somewhat. whether you like it or not she too is a pioneer and she was perfect for the role. she was so wonderful in the role and deserved all the accolades she recieved. she was dorothy dandridge. beauty, pain, talent

I have nothing against Janet Jackson playing someone's biop, because if she channels those strong acting skills she once possessed as a child, that would be cool. But in terms of Lena Horne's similarilty in terms of looks and personality, I really feel Alicia Keys could nail Ms. Horne's biop if she proves she can act.

Janet betta work, This sexy Mf..you can bounce a quarter off...well any part.

NuPwr319 said:

OKAY!!! she has an official site somewhere..and she still looks great...

Halle was perfect to play Dorothy Dandrige for the aforementioned reasons but Janet as Lena Horne? Won't Fly. For starters, Janet is too old to play Lena in her heyday. Secondly, she doesn't resemble her at all. A large part of Lena's life had to do with her complexion like it or not. Casting Janet wouldn't do it justice. Besides, give a lesser-known, more deserving actress the role. Janet should have people doing her life story not the other way around.

I love JJ to death but she cannot act, she needs to get as far away from that role as possible

NikkiVail said:

what i dont get is...she was awesome in Good Times...she must still have the talent...maybe someone just needs to teach her how to act on camera or something...for the big screen...i read something about Rock Hudson once where he talked about a huge difference between the two...

I think Janet can act,and I'm surprised that she hasn't done more movies.She apparently likes to release a new CD every four years,tour for a year,and then take another few years to relax and take it easy.She doesn't really seem all that eager to be an actress.

whodknee said:

These are all valid points -- especially the one about Lena Horne's fair complexion

Janet Jackson to play Lena Horne?
I just can't seem to fathom that. Maybe,...uh......uhh...oh, hell, I don't know who else could fit that role. I was thinking of that chick from Flashdance, but that probably wouldn't work.

NWF said:

You mean Jennifer Beals, Someone said something about her lif having to do with her complexion. If that's the case, the Ms. Beals is too light to play her

AaronSuperior said:

Fingers crossed! I think Raven would have gain like 1000 pounds for the part though.

VinnyM27 said:

actually, Raven looks like she's going to be 300 lbs, someday. she's just got that body type... already, even

purplegypsy said:

I think Lena Horne is a really tiny woman. She looks like she is about 80 lbs but she is short as well (I think). NO Lena is not big at all so if Janet is big these days, she'd have to lose weight. I don't know that much about Lena Horne from back in the day but I see every so often (and no, she looks not even close to 86 or even 60 for that matter). I think Janet might do a good job with it (if she does it). I don't think Janet would do something that would embrass her and Horne (and if it sucks that much, ABC might not even air it and I'm sure they don't want to lose the money) so I think she will do well.

It doesn't seem like a good idea.

It might turn out like the Madonna/Evita thing.

They should cast some relatively unknown star that can fit Lena Horne's character perfectly. They should cast some female newcomer just so we could judge her for her. If Janet played her, then it doesn't seem believable enough. It would probably take me a while to get past the fact that Janet would be playing her.

cranshaw62 said:

which would make it a good idea... so which is it?

AaronSuperior said:

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
word, Aaron

DavidEye said:

I'm sorry, but she was horrible in Poetic Justice

whodknee said:

Precisely. Anybody who is familiar with Lena's life/career knows this. Reading about some of the bigotry that Lena went through was utterly heartbreaking. I'd hate to see some haphazard casting for her part that isn't convincing and wouldn't do her justice.

Personally I think Jasmine Guy would Be a Better choice.I ain't feeling Janet as a Actress for Her Career.

mistermaxxx said:

CO-SIGN
wow... I was thinking the same thing, Jasmine Guy is talented, she sings, dances and is of the same complexion as Lena...I think she would be wonderful for this role.

But, ya'll know in an autobiography...at least televised, the person playing the role doesn't always look like the person that he or she is portraying... example:LEON portrayed Little Richard, and he doesn't look like the man and he is much taller.. but he did one hell of a great job in the role... so let's not totally count Janet out.

I could've seen Ms. Jackson as Dorothy Dandridge, but Lena Horne?

MSMARIE2121 said:

I dig Leon better as David Ruffin.who Knew Leon would play Every R&B Lead Singer or Artist from the 60's? even tough Little Richard came out in the 50's Leon covers mainly cats from the 60's for Tv Projects&also "the Five heartbeats".

whodknee said:

i agree with you! you put it pefectly, a big part of lena's early career had to do with studio execs tryin to cast her as a latina or white woman in the same way the very underrated Freddi Washington was. Janet must have paid someone to get that part since she got stiffed over Dorthy Dandridge (thank God). I really can't think of who could play the part but they really could have found someone else