Former Destiny's Child Manager Reveals Two Biopics

Mathew Knowles is frequently credited with founding Destiny’s Child. However, as the true story goes, a woman by the name of Andretta Tillman actually played a major role in the foundation and success of the group. As we’ve learned over the years, back then they went by the name Girls Tyme. We were recently afforded the opportunity to speak with Brian K. Moore, who co-managed the group alongside Knowles and Tillman until she passed away. Moore, who authored a book setting the record straight about Destiny’s Child’s early days titled, The Making of a Child of Destiny: The Andretta Tillman Story, revealed that he is in the middle of producing two biopics about the supergroup, apart from the biopic Knowles has expressed interest in producing. Apparently, there’s so much that has yet to be told. Check out our chat with Moore below.

MN: What was the nature of your relationship with Andretta Tillman?

“I was Andretta’s [business] partner. We were co-managers of Destiny’s Child along with Mathew Knowles.”

MN: I realize that you’re not working on just one Destiny’s Child biopic, but two. How come?

“Well, after I was approached by several producers who read my book [The Making of a Child of Destiny: The Andretta Tillman Story] and they wanted to take an approach of doing one more focusing on the lives of Destiny’s Child as kids and then another that focused more on Andretta and the management as well as the adult version of the story. So we decided to split it up into two.”

MN: Have you spoken to any of the ladies of Destiny’s Child since the release of your book?

“I’ve spoken with Latavia. I’ve also spoke with Nikki and Nina, two of the other girls who were in the original group, Girls Tyme. I haven’t spoken with any [current] members of Destiny’s Child after the release of the book, no I haven’t.”

MN: How do you believe that your movie will be received by past and present members of Destiny’s Child?

“I think it will be greatly received. It’s the true story of what really happened and how it all came to be. It’s a story that only myself or one of the girls in the group could tell.”

MN: What can you tell us about the late Andretta Tillman?

“Andretta was an incredible woman, very strong willed. There were some incidents that happened in her life that brought the onset of lupus. She battled that. She was on a mission with her husband to create a group. Going to the grave, she accomplished that. Following the loss of her husband and through her will, she was able to create Destiny’s Child. I was able to be there and bear witness to her greatness and the creation of that group.”

MN: What do you desire for viewers to walk away with after seeing your films?

“Well, I hope viewers walk away realizing the sacrifices that were made to put Destiny’s Child together. There were so many sacrifices from all of the families—the parents, as well as the sacrifices that the girls made. It’s such an incredible story of determination, will and a woman’s drive in her dying breath to achieve something. I think viewers will walk away with the reality that Beyoncé didn’t just ‘wake up like this.’ That was a journey. That was a struggle.”

MN: Do you have an estimated timeline of how soon it will be before these projects come to fruition?

“Well on the timeline, we’ve been speaking with several movie companies. I’ve partnered with Brooklyn Media Group, which is led by James A. Pearson. James has done work with Oprah Winfrey and huge entertainment entities. He’s a mainstay in the movie and entertainment business. We got with him to kind of expedite the review process and of course, selling the rights to the book and things of that nature. We’re in the middle of those negotiations now. We were at CBS about two weeks ago and we met with several studios and film companies. We’re just finalizing the two different screenplays. By the end of the year, hopefully we’ll have something done and start filming one of the movies.”

MN: I read in an article that Mathew wanted to manage Girls Tyme and in order to do so, he presented Andretta with an ultimatum to either make him co-manager or he would take Beyoncé out of the group. Is that true?

“Yeah, that’s a true statement. When we were managing the group, success started to come. Andretta did an incredible job as far as getting the girls to ‘Star Search’ and where we needed to be in front of the movers and shakers of the industry and all of these wonderful things started to happen. Mathew did work his way into the management team by playing the card of removing Beyoncé.”

MN: Would you say that Mathew took advantage of Mrs. Tillman at all?

“Well, I don’t want to give the book and movie away. I said everything in the book where readers can go and find out. There are a lot of things that happened and I don’t want to badger anybody, but readers can really find out in the book and the movies as well.”

MN: Without giving away too much, do you have any personal thoughts or feelings about Mathew Knowles?

“Me, personally? I think Mathew did an incredible job after Andretta passed and I walked away from the management team. I think that he did an impeccable job. No personal feelings do I really have. I haven’t seen the man or been around him. It’s been 17 years since I walked away so I really wouldn’t have anything to say other than what people are saying in the media. Being there, I’d have to say that I’m disappointed about what happened with him and Tina. I thought they were a great couple. I feel sorry for all of the girls anytime private things like that happen. Personally, I really don’t have any ill feelings towards Mathew. He took the wheels and ran with it.”

MN: Did you witness a strain in his relationship with Tina at all?

“Well, there were some things but I would not want to be the person to elaborate on their marriage. I’m sure it was hard enough on them as it was.”

MN: Can you tell us anything about the departure of Latavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett from Destiny’s Child?

“One thing that Andretta did was that she had a tight rein on the girls with the contracts and all of that. When LeToya came into the group, she was already acting and doing things of that nature. Because of the contract they had when they signed on to be in Girls Tyme and Destiny’s Child eventually, they were not allowed to do those things so there was kind of a challenge there that went on. Andretta was always there to calm any issues. My thinking is that when Latavia and LeToya got put out after—because that incident happened several times and Ann was there to calm the waters. I think the incident arose again, the issue of them wanting different management and everything and them not reading their contract that said Music World owned Destiny’s Child. They owned the trademark. So by not reading that, you think you can go and remove a manager, but you’re the one who can be replaced. The entity is owned by management. So that’s what happened.”

MN: It’s pretty cool that you were interviewed for the Beyoncé biography that’s coming out. In what capacity did you partake in that project?

“After I released my book, I was approached by J. Randy Taraborrelli about the Beyoncé biography. We’ve been silent and protective of Destiny’s Child for quite some time. And so I really didn’t want to get involved, but after I talked to Randy and we had some discussions, he told me that he wanted to learn more about the behind-the-scenes story and the Andretta piece. That’s when I was more interested in opening up and talking. I think I was an intricate part of them finding out information and finding people. After people found out that I opened up and talked to Randy, a lot more people were more willing to talk about Destiny’s Child and Andretta. I’m really excited about Randy’s book. A lot of people ask me if I’m concerned because I have a book out and Randy has a book, but they’re two different books. Randy’s is a Beyoncé biography. Mine is about Andretta, myself and the creation of Destiny’s Child.”

MN: Do you think you’ll be met with resistance from the Knowles family regarding your movies?

“I haven’t received any resistance with the book at this point. What I have realized is that now if you look at the interviews that Mathew and different people are having, they’re starting to mention Andretta’s name again and things of that nature. That was my whole purpose, just telling Andretta’s story. She was a great woman and I promised I wouldn’t let her name die and that’s exactly what was happening. It was just time to set the record straight. I have kids approaching me thinking that Destiny’s Child just woke up as a star group and that wasn’t the case. There was a lot of struggle, a lot of hard work and a lot of sacrifices by the parents and definitely, the ultimate sacrifice was paid by Andretta.”

MN: I do recall the ladies shouting her out on the Writing’s on the Wall album. I believe they called her Ms. Ann. I’m very interested in learning more about this story.

“It’s an incredible story and we’re so excited to now be talking to people like you and to be in negotiations for the movie and other things that are coming down the pipe. It’s good to be talking about Andretta again and really just setting the record straight about what happened. I think people will find out through my book that some great sacrifices were made and you will appreciate Destiny’s Child more.”

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