Michelle Williams was cast as Peggy Lee in an upcoming biopic, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Todd Haynes, who previously worked with Williams on the Bob Dylan-centered I’m Not Here, will lead the project.
The Hollywood Reporter notes that Fever was based on a script by Nora Ephron, but the project was discontinued after her death in 2012. Billboard reports that Billie Eilish is also in talks to join Fever as executive producer. Peggy Lee established herself as a big band singer in the early 1940s, writing nearly 300 songs, and cultivating a successful career as a songwriter and entertainer. Her many hits included “Fever” and “Is That All There Is”. She died in 2002 at the age of 81.
In 2017, Deadline reported that Williams was cast as Janis Joplin in a biopic approved by the late singer’s estate. The film had permission to use two dozen of Joplin’s songs, but no further release details were announced.