David O Russell will direct a biopic of music legend Linda Ronstadt, who will be played by Selena Gomez in the film.
Linda Ronstadt is a legendary singer songwriter best known for her 1970s albums Heart Like A Wheel and Simple Dreams.
Throughout her career she has released 29 studio albums in genres including country, rock and roll and Latin music, won 11 Grammys and was honoured by both the Recording Academy and the Latin Recording Academy with Lifetime Achievement Awards.
In 2011, Ronstadt announced her retirement, later revealing she is no longer able to sing due to her progressive supranuclear palsy, and in 2014 she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Now Variety reports that her life story is heading to the big screen courtesy of director David O Russell and Selena Gomez – Gomez teased her involvement earlier this week when she posted an image of Ronstadt’s 2013 autobiography Simple Dreams on her Instagram story. No other casting has been announced.
Gomez is no stranger to music, having sung the theme tune to her breakout Disney Channel series Wizards Of Waverly Place, scoring several hit singles and albums, first with her band Selena Gomez and the Scene and then as a solo artist. She is currently enjoying huge success starring alongside Steve Martin and Martin Short in the wonderful Only Murders In The Building, which streams on Disney+ in the UK and was recently commissioned for a fourth series.
Russell’s most recent film was the 2022 mystery comedy Amsterdam, starred Christian Bale, Margot Robbie and John David Washington. Russell is also working on Super Toys, which currently has Keke Palmer and Sacha Baron Cohen attached to star.
James Keach, who produced 2019 documentary Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice, is producing alongside Ronstadt’s manager, John Boylan.
We’ll keep you updated as we hear more.
