*The trailer for the upcoming New Edition biopic premiered during the 16th annual BET Awards, and judging by the response it received in social media, diehard fans are definitely looking forward to it. One Twitter user wrote, “The new edition biopic cast looked like a box of decadent chocolate.”
“Empire’s” Bryshere Y. Gray will play Michael Bivins; “The Wiz Live!” star Elijah Kelley is Ricky Bell; singer-songwriter Luke James is Johnny Gill; Algee Smith is Ralph Tresvant; Keith Powers is Ronnie Devoe, and Woody McClain plays Bobby Brown.
JET visited the set to get the inside scoop on the project, which has no official premiere date yet. “I can’t wait for the people to see it,” Bobby Brown said after Sunday’s BET Awards. “When you see these actors, it’s going to blow your mind.”
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Brown — along with the rest of his New Edition brethren — were extremely impressed with the cast’s portrayal of the hit R&B group.
“I didn’t think anybody was able to play me…but it was a beautiful sight to see,” Brown said.
“It’s such a blessed situation,” Gray said, noting he shadowed Bivins for two weeks so he’d get it right. “I don’t want to mess it up at all.”
BET collaborated with Jesse Collins and the members of New Edition for a three-part mini-series event based on the iconic group. Johnny Gill, who joined the group after Bobby Brown left, Tresvant, DeVoe, Bivins and Bell will all serve as consultants and executive producers on the project, which is slated to air in 2016.
“It’s been a long time coming and that time is finally here! Now that we have signed the deal, New Edition’s journey will be captured in a three night miniseries to tell our life story through our very own eyes,” says New Edition in a joint statement. “We are happy to have New Edition Enterprises collaborate with BET Networks’ Debra Lee and Stephen Hill along with Jesse Collins Entertainment. From our beginning in the Orchard Park Projects in Boston to Hollywood and everything in between, just like The Temptations and The Jackson Five — we are ready to retrace our footsteps and show everyone how we got here. For the fans all over the world, this one’s for you.”
If you can’t see the New Edition trailer video directly above on your device, click HERE.
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