Chiwetel Ejiofor and Dosunmu movie on Fela Kuti Biopic was dropped

Chiwetel Ejiofor, the British born Nigerian movie star of great reputation who was slated to play the role of Afro-Juju  music superstar the late Fela Kuti has dropped out  from the project  due to lack of finance and support from Hollywood for the enormous project.

Steve McQueen who directed the movie “12 Years a Slave” that featured Chiwetel Ejiofor  as a lead character was later replaced by Andrew Dosunmu a Nigerian  director to make Fela Kuti Biopic

*Steve McQueen has confirmed he has dropped out of the planned biopic about Nigerian musician Fela Kuti. Also out is his “12 Years a Slave” star Chiwetel Ejiofor, who would’ve played the lead.

“They didn’t have the money. It’s just one of those things that happens in this business,” McQueen told The Hollywood Reporter.

Andrew Dosunmu, Nigerian movie director who replaced the earlier director for the movie project Steve McQueen was quoted saying that project was dead as reported by Eurweb.

When McQueen dropped out as director, he was replaced by Nigerian director Andrew Dosunmu. Still, he’s credited as the main writer of the script. Yet when asked about it at the Palm Springs Film Festival Gala on Jan. 4, he told The Hollywood Reporter: “The movie is dead. They didn’t have the money. It’s just one of those things that happens in this business.”

Chiwetel Ejiofor was recently nominated for Golden Award, a precursor for Oscar Award for the compassing and profound lead role he played in “12 Years a Slave”. Also Ejiofor was in a Nigerian movie ‘Half of Yellow sun’, a novel written by Ngozi Adichie on Biafran Civil war.  The  “12 Years a Slave” won Golden Globe for best drama 2014.

sources: Hollywood Reporter, Eurweb