Anna Nicole Movie Gets Leading Lady

Wed., Apr. 11, 2007 9:40 AM PDT by Gina Serpe

Bahamian courts may be busy figuring out the identity of Dannielynn's father, but Hollywood heavyweights have picked out her mother—or a reasonable facsimile.

Onetime pop hitmaker and Dancing with the Stars alumna Willa Ford has signed on to star as Anna Nicole Smith in the independent feature Anna Nicole, according to Variety.

The 26-year-old buxom B-list blonde will portray the infamous buxom B-list blonde in the biopic, which will chronicle Smith's life from the age of 17 to her death on Feb. 8 at the age of 39.

The film, slated to begin shooting in Los Angeles in June, has been fast-tracked by producers Jack and Joseph Nasser, who have been searching for the perfect leading lady to portray the larger-than-life star for nearly a month.

While the producers originally said they may cast two actresses to portray Smith at different ages, it's unclear whether the plan is still to split the role or whether Ford will portray Smith throughout.

Announcing the project in March, Jack Nasser said that the film would not be "focused on the trash" and the tabloid-filling final days of the late model, but would be a comprehensive look at her life touching on many of her milestones, including her days as a Guess? girl and Playboy centerfold, the birth and death of son Daniel, the birth and dispute over daughter Dannielynn and her marriage to the late oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II.

While the brothers Nasser claim to have had the film in the works for nearly two years, they said last month that they revved up production in the wake of Smith's death from an accidental overdose.

And though the film is prepping for a theatrical release, Jack Nasser has said that it's possible it could end up airing as a TV movie instead.

None of the other featured players, including the three actors needed to play Daniel at different ages, Marshall and the nurse who found Smith's body in the Florida hotel room, have yet been cast. It's also uncertain how the filmmakers plan to treat paternity rivals Howard K. Stern and Larry Birkhead in the biopic.

It is clear, however, that neither man will profit from it.

The Nassers were not required to buy the rights to Smith's life story because they are basing the film on biographical accounts that had been widely, unceasingly, reported.

"There's so much in the public domain," Jack Nasser said. "In this case, rights aren't necessary."

While the Nassers have been quick to shoot down stories that the film will detail the salacious aspects of Smith's life, the drama will likely not be G-rated.

A casting notice posted online last month for the role of Smith called for some "minor nudity" during striptease scenes. Smith logged several years as a stripper in a Texas gentleman's club, where she first met Marshall.

As for Ford, the hot-panted pop star rose to fleeting fame with her 2001 multiplatinum single "I Wanna Be Bad" and had her own brush with the tabloids after revealing she had secretly been dating Nick Carter during his Backstreet Boys heyday. She competed on the third season of Dancing with the Stars and is currently recording her sophomore album.