Mama Cass biopic starring Jessica Gunning in development

Jessica Gunning, the breakout star of Baby Reindeer, is set to portray Cass Elliot in the biographical drama My Mama, Cass. The film is adapted from the memoir of the same name by Elliot's only child, Owen Elliot-Kugell. It will focus on the influential artist's life, music, and legacy. Emma Forrest is writing the screenplay, but a director is yet to be named. 

Elliot was a founding member and the most prominent vocalist of the influential 1960s folk-pop group The Mamas & The Papas, and a key figure in the Los Angeles music scene of the mid to late 1960s. Following the group's 1968 dissolution, she also pursued a solo career, achieving hits like 'Dream a Little Dream of Me' and 'Make Your Own Kind of Music,'  and even had her own 1969 variety show, The Mama Cass Television Program. She released her final album, the live recording Don't Call Me Mama Anymore, in 1973.

Tragically, Elliot died in 1974 at the age of 32 from heart failure. A key focus of the film will be to finally dispel the persistent, false rumour that she died by choking on a ham sandwich. This rumour was initially popularized in a Hollywood Reporter obituary by journalist Sue Cameron, reportedly to obscure any possible association with substance abuse at the request of Elliot's manager. Elliot's daughter, Owen Elliot-Kugell, has spoken about the lasting pain of this false story. The official autopsy confirmed her death was due to a heart attack in her sleep, with no drugs found in her system.

English actress Jessica Gunning, best known for her critically acclaimed, award-winning performance opposite Richard Gadd in the Netflix thriller Baby Reindeer, has earned multiple top accolades, including an Emmy, a Golden Globe, and a SAG Award. Her future projects also include the dramedy Sunny Dancer, where she will star alongside James Norton. Vertitas Entertainment, the company producing the biopic, was also involved in the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown.