MTV to Air Hip-Hop Opera
Jan. 18 -- Destiny's Child leader Beyoncé Knowles has landed a new job in a cigarette factory — or, to phrase it more romantically, she will play the lead role in a new MTV movie, Carmen: A Hip Hopera, according to trade magazine The Hollywood Reporter.
Knowles — who is up for five Grammy awards for the songs "Say My Name" and "Independent Women Part 1" — will make her first venture into acting (aside from a brief appearance on a 1998 episode of the WB's Smart Guy) a musical one.
The movie will retell the story of George Bizet's classic opera — a tragic love affair between factory worker Carmen and soldier Don Jose — but will be set in contemporary Philadelphia, according to the paper, and will weave narration by rapper Da Brat with R&B and hip-hop songs.
The male lead will be played by actor Mekhi Phifer, who had a small role in last year's Shaft.
More on the Way For MTV, the new movie follows successes such as 2gether, the story of a fictional boy band, and Jailbait, which dealt with statutory rape. MTV also had a hand in Save the Last Dance — currently the top box-office draw in the country. The hip-hop dance movie, with a top-selling R&B soundtrack, was co-produced by Paramount.
The hip-hopera is just one of an aggressive lineup of original movies that the cable channel is planning for the coming year, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Other projects include Spring Break Lawyer, Fake ID, and Tales From the Prom.
Though ideas for hip-hoperas have been frequently kicked around — and producer Prince Paul recorded one with 1999's Prince Among Thieves — the movie will be the first of its genre to reach a wide audience.
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