According to London's Evening Standard, Lenny Kravitz has parlayed his cameos in The Hunger Games and Precious into a starring role in a new biopic on Motown singer Marvin Gaye. The film is being made by Julien Temple, most recently known for his London: The Modern Babylon documentary on this past summer's Olympiad in the UK capital. Temple's resume, however also includes the 1986 film Absolute Beginners, starring David Bowie and Sade, as well as several films on The Sex Pistols. Though there is no title attached to the project yet, the biopic focuses on the last years of the legendary soul man's life, particularly a stretch he spent in London, dodging the tax man and battling alcoholism, circa 1981, before "...he was rescued by music promoter Freddy Cousaert and spirited away to his flat in Ostend, Belgium, to recover."
The film would be Kravtiz' first lead and the news has already raised some eyebrows. According to ES:
The only bum note is that Janis Gaye, the singer’s second and last wife, has said she feels “very sceptical” about the project.
Objections seem to be pretty par for the course with projects of this nature with both Andre 3000's portrayal of Jimi Hendrix and Zoe Saldana's role as Nina Simone drawing criticism from the family (or estate) of the musical icon in question. Guess we'll just have to kick back and see how this one plays out. Pass the popcorn.
