Making biopics about famous dead people is a particularly fraught issue, what with it being difficult to get the story straight when you can't talk to the subject; you don't want to disrespect their memory in the pursuit of drama. But, at the same time, a tragic true life story is irresistible to producers especially those working at the Lifetime network. Promising R&B singer Aaliyah died in a plane crash aged just 22 years old, but even so young she'd already had several gold records and a controversial relationship with R Kelly. That's some solid-gold tragedy right there. Unfortunately, Lifetime couldn't resist the urge to embellish and also romanticise certain parts of Aaliyah's life. And in a totally creepy way. All the facts and more went into Aaliyah: The Princess Of R&B, but it was the more that had people upset. The singer's long-time collaborators Timabaland and Missy Elliot both blasted it for inaccuracies and not getting rights to her songs. Not too surprising given that the book it was based on had already been denounced by Aaliyah's family.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
