There's a good chance Julian Temple's Marvin Gaye biopic will never be completed, even though it's progressed much further than it seemed it would a few years ago. The road to production was a tough one, mostly surrounding the task of finding someone to play the legendary R&B crooner.
Law & Order star Jesse L. Martin had the job back in 2008, with James Gandolfini co-starring and producing, but the project died out. Lenny Kravitz had a cup of coffee in the role before dropping out, only to have Martin step right back in as filming began. But with only three weeks of shooting left,
the project was stalled when Focus Features International pulled funding, and that's where things currently stand.
However, there has been a new wrinkle as
Shadow & Act have uncovered four minutes of footage from the film which give us a look at the soulful flavor Temple was going for. The film focuses on his battle with drug addiction while in London recording his seminal album, Midnight Love. Clearly designed as some sort of sales promo, the footage depicts a different aspect of Gaye's struggle. Dwight Henry (
Beasts of the Southern Wild) figures prominently as his scornful father, while we also get glimpses of Brendan Gleeson and Clarke Peters (
The Wire).
So feast on this now because it may be all we get from
Sexual Healing....well, ever.
