Lady Gaga denies she will play ‘nemesis’ Cilla Black in Dionne Warwick biopic

Dionne Warwick herself had announced the casting plans

Lady Gaga's representative says she will not be playing Cilla Black in a new biopic about the singer Dionne Warwick - rejecting a casting announcement from Warwick herself.

Warwick announced plans for a film about her life at Cannes on Friday morning, saying it would star Destiny’s Child’s LeToya Luckett in the lead role and Gaga as Cilla, whom Warwick described at the press conference as her “nemesis”.

Danny Glover will play Warwick’s father and Olympia Dukakis is Marlene Dietrich, with “a couple of surprises” still in store for the cast (as if Gaga wasn’t surprise enough).

Gaga's name was among those that appeared on a poster unveiled at the casting announcement, and the news was welcomed by the estate for Black, who died in 2015.

But bizarrely, Gaga's people now say the announcement is not true and a source said she hasn't even heard of the movie.

“Lady Gaga is not attached and will not appear in the project,” her publicist told Variety. “Reports of Gaga starring in the project are false.”

The Cannes announcement was widely reported, and Gaga has indeed turned away from music and towards acting recently. She appeared in Sin City: A Dame to Kill For and American Horror Story: Hotel, for which she won a Golden Globe this year.

The Warwick biopic will be based on her autobiography My Life As I See It.

In talks to direct is Mario Van Peebles, who has recently helmed episodes of Empire and Nashville.

“This is my 57th year in this business, and I have been asked ‘When are you gonna let us know about this? Tell us about that?’” she said at Cannes. “So it’s finally at the point where instead of what you think you know about Dionne Warwick, now you will know.”

Asked why she considered Black her nemisis, Warwick told the press conference: "She stole my songs. I’m not a happy camper about that."