In the works for years, and often presumed to be either dead or dying, it looks as if Don Cheadle's long awaited Miles Davis biopic is actually going to happen. The last we'd heard about it, Cheadle was trying to put together an overall budget for the film, but there has been a significant step made that should speed the process along, as Antoine Fuqua(Training Day) appears to have landed the director's job.
This is a slight deviation from what had been originally planned, as Cheadle had hoped to direct the film himself. Done with the approval of the Davis estate heirs, Erin Davis and Vince Wilburn Jr., it was them who revealed the news of Fuqua's hiring. Based on a script by Steven Baigelman, the story won't be a "cradle to the grave" biopic, and is said to be more of gangster flick than anything else. Intriguing, definitely, especially with Herbie Hancock on board to provide the film's score. Hancock, a world renowned musician in his own right, was a part of Davis' Second Great Quintet.
This would presumably move Cheadle's film well ahead of George Tillman Jr.'s biopic on the jazz legend, which we learned about last fall. As good as this news is in that it means the project should be moving forward, Fuqua isn't really a director worth getting excited over. Plus, he's got a really bad track record of late when it comes to getting his films off the ground. We'll see what happens. For now there's reason to be cautiously optimistic. [WSJ]
