Yesterday, it was announced that Jupiter Rising Film are planning to make a Thelonious Monk biopic called Thelonious with rapper Yasiin Bey (fka Mos Def) starring in the titular role. After the news broke, Thelonious Monk’s son and the chairman and co-founder of Rhythm-A-Ning Entertainment, T.S. Monk, said to Pitchfork, "This project and its announcement are totally unauthorized! I hate the script and I control the music in Thelonious’ catalog. There is no involvement by anyone in the Monk family with this project, and we actually condemn the effort."
Now, in a video posted to Instagram, Yasiin Bey revealed that he won't do the film unless the Monk family approves. "Let me be clear, if the Monk estate is not happy with it, if Mr. Monk III is not happy with it, then neither am I," he said in the video. "To be clear, I was given every indication by the production company that the family was on board. It was one of my primary questions. Just as important as the music, if not more important, was that the family supported the project. I took [the producers] at their word and clearly that wasn’t the case."