Queen Latifah is re-teaming with her “Steele Magnolia filmmakers. (Paul Archuleta /FilmMagic/Getty Images)
The Lifetime movie about the Flint, Mich., water crisis is now being executive produced by Queen Latifah, who will also star in the TV flick following Cher’s exit.
Latifah will lead the film with singer-actress Jill Scott, Betsy Brandt of “Breaking Bad” fame and current star of CBS’s “Life In Pieces” and Marin Ireland of Amazon’s “Sneaky Pete.” Latifah also will take on one of the executive producer roles with previously attached Katie Couric, Neil Meron and Craig Zadan, according to Deadline.
“Flint” is based on the true story of three women living in the Michigan city who commanded justice after residents were unknowingly drinking and using lead-ridden water in 2014 due to then-newly switched water sources. The three real-life activists, who will be played by Scott, Brandt and Ireland, made movements that led to a nationwide call for safe water. Latifah will play a resident working to shed light on the community’s poisoning during the crisis that has now been going on for three years.
Latifah’s entrance into the movie inspired by a 2016 Time magazine article called “The Toxic Tap” followed Cher’s announcement in March that she would no longer take part due to “a serious family issue,” she told Deadline.
Los Angeles-based Cher said the project has been “so near and dear to my heart, and I was truly looking forward to helping tell this story.” The singer had been attached to executive produce and star in “Flint,” which begins shooting in Toronto next week.
