Mariah Carey, Confirmed Drama Queen

Mariah Carey pushes herself in new indie flick at Sundance

By Ted Casablanca Jan 22, 2009 1:41 AMTags
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Watch out, world—Mariah Carey's acting again. This time, Mimi's slumming it in a supporting role in li'l indie flick Push, premiering at Sundance this week. Don't fret, those high-maintenance mannerisms are far from dunzo. "She is that diva," says director Lee Daniels. Like we had any doubt.

"People were like 'Ugh, Mariah, what about Glitter?' says M.C.'s costar Gabourey Sidibe. "Well, I say, 'What about Glitter? It's one of my favorite movies!' "

Oh, dear. Someone's obviously under contract from Mariah's people. But this ain't Glitter—Mar ain't the star of this movie. In fact, Mimi filled in for a well-known actress who dropped out of the project.

And you'll never guess who.

Says Gabourey, "She was the last person to get hired actually, because Helen Mirren dropped out." Excuse us? Oscar-winning sexagenarian (emphasis on the sex) Helen Mirren was replaced by a slightly kooky pop singer 30 years younger? The director confirms it: "Helen was supposed to play [Mariah's] character, but ended up not being able to."

Just imagine what The Queen woulda been like with Mariah in the lead role. There'd be a helluva lot more cleavage, that much we know fer sure.

Additional reporting by Taryn Ryder and Becky Bain