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EXCLUSIVE: The actor tells me he has been talking to Cameron Crowe about starring as soul singer Marvin Gaye. Crowe has been working for 3½ years on the Sony biopic. The director has gone back to the drawing board after Will Smith turned down the role. Mowtown founder Berry Gordy Jr. is supporting the project, which has secured rights to Gaye’s music. Scott Rudin is attached as producer. Howard, of course, is a singer himself. Marvin Gaye was one of the influences on his debut album Shine Through It. “Nothing’s been signed on paper yet,” Howard tells me. “Everybody who loves music will hate me if I get this one wrong.”
CANNES: Terrence Howard In Talks To Play Cameron Crowe’s Marvin Gaye
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Should be Chris Tucker!
Terrence Howard would be great! Awsome choice! Chris Tucker would be one big Joke…………..
I wonder how much interest there is in a Marvin Gaye bio. I’m not that interested but I’ll see whatever Crowe puts out there. Not really crazy about the Howard selection though. Whatever happened to Jesse L. Martin playing this part? I bet he’d be good. Is Howard that much more of a draw than Martin?
In Howard we trust.
I thought the guy from “law and Order” was supposed to play him?
Will Smith might be right box office choice, but artistically, Howard is better casting. Great choice for the role.
It’s about time Crowe comes through with a quality project. It’s been a long time since Almost Famous and Elizabethtown still gives me nightmares….
Why would you make this movie with CCrowe. Talented Yes. But not for a project like this!!! Marvin Gaye-to dark a story(no pun intended) CCrowe to frilly to milk toast. And on top of that who really knows who Marvin Gaye was in the overall marketplace of people attending movies in todays market place If it aint CGI 3D and eye popping effects..do people go? Of course Barry Gordy is behind the project. But is Sony getting any money from him..bet not? Whatever amount CCrowe’s budget he signs off on. It wont come back to Sony. Amy let it go. Not worth the agony of defeat. You will be disappointed believe me.
Say what you want about his diva tendencies and seeming insanity, Terrence Howard is a very talented dude. I’d love to see this.
There were two other Gaye projects — one was the Jesse Martin-Gandolfini one which didn’t have the rights to the music catalog, one was a biopic to be directed by F. Gary Gray, and then this one. (One has to ask that if this is a Motown-pushed project — does that mean there’ll be nothing about Sexual Healing, recorded after Marvin’s untidy departure from the Motown label? And how will it treat Marvin’s first marriage, to Berry Gordy’s sister?)
Cameron Crowe knows more about music than almost any other director out there; I have faith in him to get the music right, and I think that the constraints of life events and biopic genre will help curb the excesses and messiness that led to something like Elizabethtown. I think Howard could be good in this role, provided that it’s the T-Howard of Boycott and Hustle and Flow and not the Howard who showed up for Iron Man.
The bigger problem isn’t that there wasn’t incident in Marvin Gaye’s life — there was, and a lot of it. The problem is, how do you do a film about Gaye’s life that isn’t a complete downer? The guy was shot dead by his own father after struggling with depression, drug addiction, and BEATING his dad shortly before his dad killed him. Marvin was a terrific musician, but an asshole. (Ray Charles was also an asshole, too, and one of the smart things Hackford did with Ray was make it much more about the music and then beating the drug addiction, since Ray’s life didn’t have a redemptive love story in it the way that Walk the Line did.)
It’s the opposite of the Otis Redding problem, where Otis was an amazing musician, whom everybody loved, who got along with everybody without incident, who then crossed over via Monterey Pop, was about to do incredible new things as seen with Dock of the Bay, then died in a plane crash. With Otis, there wasn’t drama for a movie. With Marvin, there’s tons of drama — it’s just a huge bummer of a story about a talented musician whose life was a mess and just got worse. I’m sure Crowe and the Sony folks see that as the biggest challenge, and I’ll be interested to see how they address it.
Don’t forget the transvestitism. Shit got crazy.
Please not this…’vainglorious’…self-regarding narcissist actor person.
Marvin’s special. The guy from Law+Order has the jaw and is a good actor – Marvin is too big a star for this – physicality matters. Because whoever plays him can GIVE UP trying to sound like him.
Terrence Howard is soft and camp and difficult (one of the reasons he was iced for Cheadle in Iron Man 2). There must be better choices out there…I think Jesse Martin is the perfect Marvin Gaye…and even Anthony Mackie?
To the dude that tried to dis Howard about getting fired and replace by Cheadle on Iron Man 2. As a fan of all three; Howard, Cheadle and The Iron Man Franchise- that was a dumb ass move! Cheadle sucked in that role. I’m sure the pay day and prestige of it was the reason he would take such a role, but he should have stayed in his lane! Howard was missed! No matter our personal feelings for actors, we must select talent best on the art of the craft! Respect Howards game. And as for Jesse Martin, He too is one of the great ones who id like to see more of!
Mackie has already fucked up a portrayal of a music legend (Tupac). We need not give him another one.
*Please note, I am not a Tupac fan, but he is still considered by many to be a legend.
Wow, actually sort of sorry to hear Crowe has put so much time into this. Not sure this is something I care to see, Crowe or not.
I gotta say this — even though the bulk of Eddie Murphy’s great performance in Dreamgirls was inspired by James Brown — his performance (and the character) towards the end, when he records “Patience” — the one song in a musical about a Motown-like label that actually soundsl ike Motown — I thought Eddie was channeling What’s Going On-era Marvin, complete with the little knit hat. He was great, though probably a little old to play Marvin in a biopic.
CROWE RULES- simple as that.
…except maybe ELIZABETHTOWN…that was poopoo.
NO this is not a good idea. What would be good? In these very spirited political times we are living in I would say a bio pic of a spirited politician would be good, a black one even better. Who? A bio pic of Adam Clayton Powell Jr….HIs life story is absolutely fantastical..His personality was almost unreal from what I’ve heard as was his movie star looks. Very charismatic. His background of african american aristocracy (kind of) is almost never dealt with in movies. His preaching style of fire and brimstone with hair flying all over the place: positively theatrical.
He was part of the first wave of the civil rights movement, had many wives including a famous Hollywood black actress, had mistresses, drank HARD, ended up the first elected black US congressman representing Harlem when Harlem (NYC) was H A R L E M. He was loved and hated. Just darken Terrence Howard’s hair and that’s it. He already has the mustache of that era. This could be an epic like Malcom X who frankly seems like a choirboy compared to Powell.
The problem could be with Powell’s heirs. I don’t know if they would give the rights but isn’t a former congressmen almost like public domain? Anyway that’s my pitch, LOL. I’m shopping this because it’s a better story and Terrence would do well in this.
Marving Gaye? Nice but not for Howard..
There was a biopic of Adam Clayton Powell Junior — it ran on Showtime, starred Harry Lennix and Vanessa Williams, called Keep the Change.
This is a brilliant pairing– like Hackford & Fox for “Ray”. This has Oscar written all over it. This is serious.
To all the clowns– if you live a thousand years you’ll still never achieve a tenth of T. Howard’s gifts– physically, intellectually or vocally.
Love Crowe, Hate Howard, Gaye is a story not worth telling…
Who’s the audience for this film?
@ Already Bored:
Who’s the audience for this film?
Anyone w/ taste.
So you should definitely stay home.
This man’s mark on every genre of music, civil rights & black identity is incredible.
You’re obviously not intelligent enough to understand that.
Terrence Howard will be a great choice for this role. I know he can do it.
Crowe’s biggest problem is his tendency to slap happy endings on everything, obviously a major reason he never made the Phil Spector biopic. And for someone who portrays himself as a sweet, innocent little boy journalist, trying to get him on the phone for an interview if you’re just some piddly little writer like myself and getting past his dragon gatekeeper publicists is a tougher task than parting the red sea. When I worked at Creative Screenwriting, Steven Spielberg did an e-mail interview with us for War of the Worlds. What’s Crowe’s excuse for treating people that aren’t in his rarified air like specs on the floor?
you got a little heart. a sad life awaits you.
OMG No!!!!!!!
Jesse L. Martin was born for this role, I can’t handle the thought of this story being done half-ass, this needs to be done right and with all of the music. I would rather not see it done if Howard is gonna do it. Marvin’s story while a downer, painful, he created some amazing music, it was his life he struggled to create music. I am ready for that story to be told but hell no on Terrence. Not only does Jesse sing great, he has got Gaye’s swagger down. Marvin’s family is riding hard on whitwashing the truth, thus the Gordy approved soft story but now with more money being tossed at it they want to get it done. Respect the man get it done right.
too… many… biopics…
Howard is a terrible choice for the role. He doesn’t look the part – too thick, too light, doesn’t have Marvin’s winning smile and sly sexiness. Jesse L. Martin would do a much better job. If a director wanted to take a risk on a singer in the role – try Maxwell or Lenny Kravitz. I don’t know too many Marvin Gaye fans who would want to see Terrence Howard playing Marvin Gaye. I shudder just thinking of it.
Speaking strictly as a straight man … if you don’t think Howard has a sort of sly sexiness, you should check out his performance in The Best Man. He was the best thing about the film and it was that role that let audiences know he was a force to be reckoned with.
Trevor Anderson of Movie Mavericks gives the film 2 ½ stars out of 4.
Prince of Hitsville, is the story of events leading up to making one of the greatest albums ever. The film doesn’t have time to cover all of Gaye’s life; instead it smartly opts to show a small but important part of it. Drama ensues as Gaye fights with the music studio to put out his political album. Throughout all of this he must deal with his brother coming home from Vietnam and over-dosing on drugs. But all of this only makes Marvin stronger and more diligent in getting his new album released. Talent can be seen in Will Dalton, playing the lead. Director and writer Larry “Syid” Wright does a good job of weaving music into the story, for obvious reasons the songs are original and not those of Gaye’s. But the music is still enjoyable.
Howard looks nothing like Marvin Gaye…Jesse L. Martin from Law&Order is a dead ringer. Also not sure how good an actor he is but Common (Just Wright), resembles him more as well.
If you’re making a movie about Marvin Gaye and Jesse L Martin isn’t your lead…you’re doing it wrong.