The latest buzz is that the Florence Ballard biopic, Blondie: The Florence Ballard Story, is reportedly moving forward with some popular names from young Black Hollywood.

According to Peter Benjamin, the author of The Lost Supreme: The Life of Dreamgirl Florence Ballard, the latest casting lineup for the production includes Terry Dexter (Deliver Us From Eva) starring as Ballard and Teyana Taylor set to play Diana Ross. Also rumored to be rounding out this version of the cast according to the film's producers will be Lahman Rucker as Ballard’s husband, Tommy Chapman, Billy Dee Williams as Aretha Franklin’s dad, Rev. C.L. Franklin, and Real Housewives of Atlanta's Kandi Burress as Ballard's sister, Maxine Ballard. The real-life Maxine Ballard is also the author of a tell-all biography about her sister, The True Story of Florence (Blondie) Ballard.

Prior to this current casting list it was reported that Jurnee Smollett (The Great Debaters) would portray Ballard, and Beyoncé’s sister, Solange Knowles, would fill the diva-in-the-middle shoes as Ross. And in even earlier discussions of the movie, Faith Evans was rumored to star as Ballard.

The character Effie in both the Broadway and film productions of Dreamgirls was loosely based on Ballard’s life and experiences as a member of the Supremes.

(Photo: MCT /Landov)