Cameron Crowe working on Marvin Gaye biopic?
There’s been talk of multiple Marvin Gaye biopics for years now. While I’m never very excited when I hear news of a biopic, I must admit that I appreciate their power to introduce new fans to the works of talented artists, as well as to celebrate the lives of some of the world’s most beloved people. I’m a music nerd and appreciate music’s role in film, and another person who does this is filmmaker Cameron Crowe. The music and musical moments are some of my favorite things about Crowe’s films. Crowe, a notorious music lover, has been quietly working on a biopic of legendary soul singer Marvin Gaye for about 3 1/2 years now.
The news comes our way via Variety in an article about biopics. Variety reports that Crowe has managed to secure the rights to Gaye’s music, as well as the full cooperation of Motown founder Berry Gordy, Jr. The film is currently stalled while Crowe and Sony work out budget issues and look for an actor to play Gaye. Crowe will focus on the music rather than the personal issues of Gaye’s brief life.
You may recall that there have been other films about Gaye announced over the years. There was a film called SEXUAL HEALING. That film was to star Law & Order‘s Jesse L. Martin as Gaye and would co-star and be produced by James Gandolfini – focusing on the singer’s later years. There is also a project called MARVIN: THE LIFE STORY OF MARVIN GAYE, that is to be directed by F. Gary Gray (THE ITALIAN JOB). You may recall the topic came up in our interview with F. Gary Gray last year.
What are your thoughts on a Marvin Gaye biopic? It seems like many people are dying to get this story to the big screen but haven’t had much luck so far. Do you consider Cameron Crowe the man for the job? Who would you cast as Gaye?
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