Killers of the Flower Moon’s Lily Gladstone is attached to an upcoming Mildred Bailey biopic.
Per Deadline, Gladstone, who played Mollie Burkhart in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, is involved with an upcoming biopic about Mildred Bailey that’s being developed by Erica Tremblay.
Gladstone didn’t say whether or not she’ll be playing Bailey in the film; although, she did reveal that she’s been working with actor and singer Stella Heath, who is well-versed in “the whole arsenal of Mildred’s history.”
Lily Gladstone on the life and career of Mildred Bailey
Gladstone said of Bailey’s life and career, “[She was] the first woman to sing in front of a big band, she got Bing Crosby’s career going, and she gave a job to Billie Holiday’s mom when Billie was trying to break through.” She went on to say that Bailey “had everybody on her radio show, she was a big deal at the time, but history erased her” and that the movie would be another example “of excellent Natives through history that we don’t ever see.”
“They tried to label her the Great White jazz singer and when she pushed back on that then they started writing about her as a Black jazz singer, and she’s like, neither,” Gladstone added.
Further details about the project weren’t revealed at the time; however, Deadline’s article mentions the film likely won’t come out until “way off in the future.”
Gladstone and Tremblay recently collaborated on Fancy Dance, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2023 and is currently seeking a buyer. Having also screened at 2023 South by Southwest, the Tremblay-directed movie, which received positive reviews from critics, also stars Isabel Deroy-Olson, Ryan Begay, Shea Whigham, Audrey Wasilewski, and Dennis Newman alongside Gladstone.
Killers of the Flower Moon, meanwhile, is still playing in select theaters, while it’s also currently available to rent or purchase on various digital platforms.
