In The Latest Entertainment News Of All Things Tyrese
Tyrese Gibson is speaking up following a setback in his efforts to produce a biopic about Teddy Pendergrass. Gibson, who had previously gained the approval of the late singer and his widow, Joan Pendergrass, to portray Teddy, is now facing a legal dispute with Joan.
According to TMZ, Gibson’s production company, Voltron Entertainment, claims that Joan has backed out of their agreement regarding the rights to Teddy’s story. Voltron Entertainment has invested $450,000 into the project and is seeking $1 million in damages.
In a lengthy Instagram post on September 29th, Gibson expressed his dedication to the project, sharing that Teddy had personally endorsed him as the only actor capable of playing him in the biopic. Despite the challenges and frustrations of navigating the film industry, Gibson remains determined to bring Teddy’s story to life, emphasizing that biopics are notoriously difficult but that he is committed to making it happen.
“This has been 13-plus years in the making. This man embraced me when he was on this earth and shared [with] me, ‘No one can play me in my biopic but you, Tyrese. I’m sure of it.’” The Transformers actor added, “Hearing those words coming from him, as one could imagine, put me under an unbearable amount of pressure, but I knew that I was BORN to play Teddy Pendergrass.”
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Back in 2019, Warner Bros. Pictures acquired the rights to Teddy’s life story, with Gibson set to portray the soulful singer and Joan attached as an executive producer. Teddy Pendergrass passed away in January 2010 after a battle with colon cancer, having previously overcome a life-threatening car accident in 1982 that left him paralyzed from the chest down.
