David O. Russell is set to direct the upcoming Linda Ronstadt biopic, starring Selena Gomez, Variety has confirmed.
The music biopic is currently in pre-production, with producers including James Keach, who produced the 2019 documentary “Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice,” and Ronstadt’s manager, John Boylan.
Gomez teased her involvement in the biopic earlier this week by posting a picture of Ronstadt’s 2013 memoir “Simple Dreams” on her Instagram story. No other casting has been announced.
Ronstadt is a country, rock ‘n’ roll and Latin music legend known for her 1970s albums “Heart Like a Wheel” and “Simple Dreams.” Throughout her career she has released 29 studio albums, won 11 Grammys, and was honored by both the Recording Academy and the Latin Recording Academy with Lifetime Achievement Awards. In 2014, Ronstadt was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Russell is an Oscar-nominated director and writer known for critically acclaimed films such as “Three Kings” (1999), “The Fighter” (2010), “Silver Linings Playbook” (2012) and “American Hustle” (2013). His most recent feature, the 2022 mystery comedy “Amsterdam,” starred Christian Bale, Margot Robbie and John David Washington. In addition to the Ronstadt biopic, Russell is working on “Super Toys,” with Keke Palmer and Sacha Baron Cohen attached to star.
Ronstadt’s 2019 doc, directed by Rob Epstein (“The Times of Harvey Milk”) and Jeffrey Friedman (“The Celluloid Closet”), chronicles the artist’s nearly five-decade career. In 2011, Ronstadt announced her retirement, later revealing she is no longer able to sing due to her progressive supranuclear palsy.
Showbiz 411 was first to report the news of Russell directing.
