Ahead of her second Christmas special for Apple TV, Mariah Carey recently hinted at a handful of new projects, including an TV adaptation of her memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey.
Carey has now mentioned the adaptation, which she says she’s developing with Lee Daniels, in no less than three interviews. She first spoke about it briefly with Extra, saying that the two were working on the project for next year and that they “need it to be gritty.”
According to BuzzFeed, in the book Carey is very honest about how physical abuse, trauma and being manipulated by so many different people at different points of her life push her to find a way to take control of her own narrative. Yet as she told Z100 in New York, that even with the book, she had to fight to be represented in the way she wanted.
“There was a discussion whether my little-girl picture could be on the cover and nobody wanted it, they wanted the modern day thing,” she explained after being asked about potentially doing a musical one day. “Now the paperback is finally the representation of myself that I wanted… the little girl that nobody knew or understood because [I’m] Black and biracial.
“And now I’m working with, and we’re getting it together ’cause he is the greatest – my friend Lee Daniels. He’s amazing and we’re talking about the adaptation of my book. That’s first in line,” she said tying it all together.
She went on to explain that she wanted to make sure to tell her own story first, so that if anyone where to ever think to bring that story to the stage or screen, they would have to draw from her blueprint. Carey revealed that she and Daniels are already discussing the format of their pending project.
“It’s probably gonna be an eight-part series, she shared. “And it’s extremely important to me that the quality is top tier. I need it to be gritty and grimy and beautiful and spectacular and real. And he’s the guy.”
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight during the same press day, Carey said that she and Daniels have been “driving each other crazy” as they figure out the book’s adaptation. And after insinuating that she got the greenlight from Daniels, said that she couldn’t give away all of their secrets.
Another thing it seems Carey isn’t in a hurry to do is bond with ex-husband Nick Cannon
‘s other children.Asked by ET’s Kevin Frazier if she intends on sharing her love of Christmas with her kids Morocco and Monroe‘s stepbrothers and sisters, Carey responded:
“Is it ‘step’? I don’t think it’s ‘step’ if you’re not married to the person. I don’t know about that, that’s a different interview for you.”
The new Apple TV special, “Mariah’s Christmas: The Magic Continues,” debuts worldwide on December 1 and feature’s the diva’s new Khalid and Kirk Franklin-assisted holiday ballad, “Fall In Love At Christmas.