There’s been so much hoopla surrounding Lifetimes upcoming ‘Aaliyah: Princess of R&B’ film. There have been petitions, multiple cast changes, legal issues surrounding the use of Aaliyah‘s music, the families disapproval, etc. The singers Uncle and label ex Barry Hankerson recently spoke out regarding the Lifetime planned bio-pic and expressed the family’s disapproval. Now however, it has been reported that Hankerson has taken the helm of producing an official/family approved film (separate from Lifetime’s) that will go straight to the big screen in 2015. According to Sister2Sister:

…The feature film, expected to hit theaters in late 2015, will include favorite tracks recorded by Aaliyah before her death. In addition, there will be some never-before-released music, too.

“We’re in a position where we can do the feature film and we can do the music,” said a source close to production.

Singer B.Simone (pictured) has signed on to portray the “One in a Million” artist. Terrence Howard and Wood Harris were named as possible co-stars for the big-screen film, whose script will be written by author Zane. Most importantly, Aaliyah’s uncle and former manager, Barry Hankerson, is working on the project.

Though the TV movie is expected to air later this year, those connected to the feature film don’t think that will decrease the public’s interest in the larger production.

“I think if we do our due-diligence, people will watch the TV movie and still say, ‘I need to see the feature film,’” the source said.

We were unaware of who the lead actress B. Simone was, but a quick Youtube search revealed that the actress once competed back in 2012 to be a host on ‘106 & Park’. She also has an Aaliyah tribute on Youtube but the video is now private, so we can’t speak to her singing ability. Check out her 106 audition below.