Don Cheadle’s Miles Davis biopic just added a jazz legend to its credits and Forest Whitaker’s Louis Armstrong film, What A Wonderful Life, is well-funded/ready to shoot, but Cameron Crowe’s Marvin Gaye project — which is almost 4 years in the making — only needs a lead (plus budget) to finally get off the ground.
In a report by Variety today on struggling biopics, Almost Famous/Say Anything writer/director Cameron Crowe ensured that his film about Gaye is very much alive with producer Scott Rudin and Sony in tow, but Will Smith turned down the lead role “after much discussion,” and they’re still looking for a star.
Presumably, Crowe and company are holding out (as they should) for somebody with music and acting talent. “It’s all about getting the contact high in a movie theater that you can get from music,” Crowe told Variety. “A record can change your life. Somebody poured their life into that little piece of music. To me that’s a hero.”
Crowe’s other recent music-related projects include a video to Pearl Jam’s “The Fixer” and forthcoming documentary about the band.