HAIRSPRAY - HAIRSPRAY STAR TO PLAY SAMMY DAVIS JR?

A star of upcoming movie musical HAIRSPRAY has danced his way into contention for an upcoming SAMMY DAVIS JR. biopic. Up-and-coming star ELIJAH KELLEY has dazzled movie executives with his performance as Seaweed Stubbs in Hairspray and now he's among the frontrunners to play beloved song-and-dance man Davis Jr. in a film planned by his current producers. He tells MTV News, "There's talks about it... They (producers) want to pick (apart) his life, between probably 15 and 25. It's what made him Sammy Davis Jr." The biopic Kelley is attached to is one of three planned films about the Candyman singer, who became part of Frank Sinatra's Rat Pack. One rival project, In Black and White, is based on a 2003 biography and will be produced by Denzel Washington and Brian Grazer, while another, starring OutKast star Andre 3000, will focus on the singer's controversial romance with actress Kim Novak. Hairspray producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are working on a deal to land the rights for Davis' 1965 biography Yes, I Can and it's this project, which could feature Kelley.