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A Marvin Gaye biopic by the name of What’s Going On was picked up by Warner Bros. with Allen Hughes set to direct; Dr. Dre. and Jimmy Iovine will be producers along with Jayne Gaye, Marvin Gaye’s widow, and Suzanne de Passe on board as executive producers. According to Deadline the direction taken for the overall flow and feel of What’s Going On sounds similar to other biopics in recent memory such as Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman.
What’s Going On With The Script?
The script for What’s Going On was penned by Marcus Gardley, who is a poet/playwright who has written for episodes for tv series The Exorcist and The Chi. Not only did WB pick up the script, but they also have the backing of Marvin Gaye’s estate along with Motown which means the production will have access to Gaye’s catalogue of music, bringing more credibility to the project. Budget projections for the film seem to be hovering over the $80 million dollar mark. Casting is already underway with the film’s release set for 2023 both theatrically and streaming through HBO Max.
Marvin Gaye’s Vocals
Allen Hughes is already thinking about the vocals that will be used and it sounds like he plans on using Marvin Gaye’s actual voice for the film. Which means we won’t be seeing an attempt at mimicking popular vocals much like Joaquin Phoenix’s rendition of Johnny Cash’s voice for another biopic by the name of Walk The Line. Some may say that Phoenix did not sound like Cash, it was about as good as anyone not named Johnny Cash could have possibly done. Keeping the essence of the music seems to be top priority.
This will be Hughes’ second attempt at telling the story of a monumental figure in music as his five-part docuseries, Dear Mama, based on Tupac Shakur and his mother, Afeni Shakur’s relationship, is set to premier on FX with no release date as of yet. Hughes also directed the mini-series by the name of The Defiant Ones released in 2017. It’s based on the relationship between Dr. Dre and Jimmy lovine.
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