Jamie Foxx set to star in Marvin Gaye’s biopic
Award winning actor-singer Jamie Foxx is set to star as the late Motown star Marvin Gaye who died in 1984 after being shot by his father.
The actor-singer earned the approval of the Gaye family to bring the “Let’s Get It On” singer’s life story to television screens after a three-year process.
“I’ve been a huge fan my whole life,” Foxx told to The Hollywood Reporter. “His brilliance in music is unparalleled. Marvin Gaye’s story has always fascinated me.”
Mr Foxx will also double as the producer in the untitled limited series with Suzanne de Passe and Madison Jones of de Passe Jones Entertainment, which is responsible for projects such as “Songbird: The Miriam Makeba story,” and “The Temptations” mini-series.
As for the Gaye series, de Passe’s production company will promote it to traditional and stream-based TV services.
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Plus, she and Jones are discussing which songs in the singer’s catalog will be used in the show with Gaye’s music rights holders, Sony/ATV.
The singer’s estate is famously protective of the star’s content, so past efforts by the likes of Lenny Kravitz, F. Gary Gray and Jesse L. Martin to produce a biographical film have been shot down by the family.
“We’ve been involved in a number of attempts to get this done, and now we’ve been able to marshal all the forces,” de Passe said.
“And Jamie’s come on board as a partner, so we’re excited to get going.”
“This project will be a powerful and definitive telling of Marvin Gaye’s life story,” Gaye III said.
In 2004, Foxx stared in another musical biographical film focusing on 30 years in the life of rhythm and blues musician Ray Charles.
Foxx received an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film, as well as the Golden Globe, BAFTA, Screen Actors Guildand Critics Choice awards.
