The Chief Executive Officer of EbonyLife Media, Mo Abudu, has announced that EbonyLife Studios will be partnering with a major Hollywood studio, STARZ, a Lionsgate company, to develop the movie ‘Queen Nzinga’.
According to her, the movie will be produced by herself, Yetide Badaki, Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson, and Steven S. DeKnight.
The scripted drama series will chronicle the amazing life of the famed African warrior queen to be played by Yetide Badaki.
50 Cent will produce through his G-Unit Film and Television and Abudu will produce through EbonyLife Media. The series, from Lionsgate Television in development for STARZ, will be overseen by Executive Vice President of Original Programming, Karen Bailey, on behalf of STARZ.
Abudu noted that ‘Queen Nzinga’ is a remarkable true story of Nzinga, warrior queen, which took place place in 17th century Angola and that it is going to be an epic piece.
“I am personally excited to be named executive producer alongside 50 Cent; Yetide, who also plays our Queen Nzinga; and Steve Deknight, the creator, head writer, and executive producer of the Starz series ‘Spartacus’,” Abudu said. “How awesome is that?”
She thanked Karen Bailey for uniting them on the project, adding that, “This project is also special for us, as it comes in the wake of us opening EBONYLIFE USA LLC in Los Angeles.”? she noted that Africa has a trove of stories that are yet to be told, and that ‘Queen Nzinga’ is a story that she has wanted to tell for a long time.
In another development, Abudu announced the release of ‘Chief Daddy 2’, an EbonyLife Films and Netflix partnership movie.
According to her, the movie is full of drama, chaos, glamour and spectacle. She added that ‘Chief Daddy 2’ will be released on January 1, 2022, on NaijaOnNetflix.
She described the movie as “the most star-studded movie this season.”
She added that “We loved Dubai as the backdrop to part of our story. Thank you Dubai Tourism for your support.” (Tribune)
