Sony Pictures Classics has acquired worldwide rights to “Carlos,” an expansive documentary about Latin American jazz fusion icon Carlos Santana, directed by Emmy winner Rudy Valdez.
“Rudy Valdez’s ‘Carlos’ showcases the genius behind the musical sensation that has led Carlos Santana’s music to resonate with global audiences across multiple generations,” stated Sony Pictures Classics. “We are so pleased to partner with our friends at Imagine Documentaries and Sony Music Entertainment to help share Carlos’ remarkable story that is as complex, lively and inspiring as his music.”
Last May, Variety exclusively announced that the feature-length documentary was in the works. The film follows Santana’s journey from a 14-year-old street musician to a 10-time Grammy-winning global sensation, and features unseen archival footage and music, offering “an intimate and exhilarating look inside the mind of an elemental force of contemporary music.”
“I am honored and humbled to tell Carlos Santana’s story as a director,...
“Rudy Valdez’s ‘Carlos’ showcases the genius behind the musical sensation that has led Carlos Santana’s music to resonate with global audiences across multiple generations,” stated Sony Pictures Classics. “We are so pleased to partner with our friends at Imagine Documentaries and Sony Music Entertainment to help share Carlos’ remarkable story that is as complex, lively and inspiring as his music.”
Last May, Variety exclusively announced that the feature-length documentary was in the works. The film follows Santana’s journey from a 14-year-old street musician to a 10-time Grammy-winning global sensation, and features unseen archival footage and music, offering “an intimate and exhilarating look inside the mind of an elemental force of contemporary music.”
“I am honored and humbled to tell Carlos Santana’s story as a director,...
- 4/27/2023
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
For his directing debut after brother Joel’s first solo outing with The Tragedy of Macbeth, Ethan Coen has chosen a similar saga of ruthless ambition and soul-devouring guilt, telling the rise and fall — and rise again — of Jerry Lee Lewis, from farmer’s son to rock’n’roll idol.
Coen’s Special Screenings Cannes Film Festival entry Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble In Mind enters a very crowded music-doc field with an approach that may confound those expecting a linear narrative and the traditional talking-head format. What they’ll get is a largely first-person recollection, using snippets culled from many years of the singer’s TV interviews, interspersed with amazing live footage that highlights his incredible versatility, moving effortlessly between rock’n’roll, rockabilly, blues, blues-soul, country-rock and country-blues; acing subgenre after subgenre.
A better title for the film comes from a conversation Lewis had back in the early days...
Coen’s Special Screenings Cannes Film Festival entry Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble In Mind enters a very crowded music-doc field with an approach that may confound those expecting a linear narrative and the traditional talking-head format. What they’ll get is a largely first-person recollection, using snippets culled from many years of the singer’s TV interviews, interspersed with amazing live footage that highlights his incredible versatility, moving effortlessly between rock’n’roll, rockabilly, blues, blues-soul, country-rock and country-blues; acing subgenre after subgenre.
A better title for the film comes from a conversation Lewis had back in the early days...
- 5/22/2022
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
Latin American jazz fusion icon Carlos Santana will be the subject of an expansive documentary directed by Emmy winner Rudy Valdez.
Imagine Documentaries is collaborating on the project with Sony Music Entertainment, which is co-financing and handling distribution. It will follow Santana’s journey from a 14-year-old street musician to a 10-time Grammy-winning global sensation, and feature unseen archival footage and tracks.
Valdez is the director of Sundance’s U.S. documentary audience award winner “The Sentence,” about the corrosive effect of mandatory minimum sentencing on convicts and their families. That project went on to win an Emmy and was released by HBO.
Currently filming, the untitled Santana doc is produced by Sara Bernstein and Justin Wilkes for Imagine, with Lizz Morhaim (“Rebuilding Paradise”). Imagine co-founders and Oscar winners Brian Grazer and Ron Howard are executive producers.
“I am honored and grateful to have partnered with Imagine Documentaries and Sony Music...
Imagine Documentaries is collaborating on the project with Sony Music Entertainment, which is co-financing and handling distribution. It will follow Santana’s journey from a 14-year-old street musician to a 10-time Grammy-winning global sensation, and feature unseen archival footage and tracks.
Valdez is the director of Sundance’s U.S. documentary audience award winner “The Sentence,” about the corrosive effect of mandatory minimum sentencing on convicts and their families. That project went on to win an Emmy and was released by HBO.
Currently filming, the untitled Santana doc is produced by Sara Bernstein and Justin Wilkes for Imagine, with Lizz Morhaim (“Rebuilding Paradise”). Imagine co-founders and Oscar winners Brian Grazer and Ron Howard are executive producers.
“I am honored and grateful to have partnered with Imagine Documentaries and Sony Music...
- 5/20/2022
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
History Channel has set the premiere date and launch plan for its original documentary “After Jackie,” a look at the second wave of Black professional baseball players who followed the trailblazing Jackie Robinson.
History Channel will premiere the two-hour documentary from LeBron James’ Uninterrupted production imprint, director Andre Gaines (“The One and Only Dick Gregory”) and producer Stanley Nelson on Saturday, June 18 at 8 p.m. Nelson’s Firelight Films also produced in association with Major League Baseball and in consultatin with the Jackie Robinson Foundation.
History Channel disclosed the launch plan on Friday to coincide with the 75th anniversary of Robinson’s history-making move to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball. On April 15, 1947, Robinson started at first base with the Brooklyn Dodgers, marking the first time a Black man played in the modern Major Leagues and breaking the color barrier in the sport.
“When the Hall of Famer...
History Channel will premiere the two-hour documentary from LeBron James’ Uninterrupted production imprint, director Andre Gaines (“The One and Only Dick Gregory”) and producer Stanley Nelson on Saturday, June 18 at 8 p.m. Nelson’s Firelight Films also produced in association with Major League Baseball and in consultatin with the Jackie Robinson Foundation.
History Channel disclosed the launch plan on Friday to coincide with the 75th anniversary of Robinson’s history-making move to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball. On April 15, 1947, Robinson started at first base with the Brooklyn Dodgers, marking the first time a Black man played in the modern Major Leagues and breaking the color barrier in the sport.
“When the Hall of Famer...
- 4/15/2022
- by William Earl
- Variety Film + TV
Actor's directing debut will focus on the period immediately following Davis's self-imposed exile from music and will co-star Ewan McGregor and Zoe Saldana
• Don Cheadle: 'Acting can be a grind'
• Don Cheadle's Davis biopic will be a 'gangster' film
Don Cheadle's Kill The Trumpet Player, the actor's take on the "silent period" of jazz trumpeter Miles Davis, will co-star Ewan McGregor and Star Trek actor Zoe Saldana.
The film is co-written by Cheadle and will be his first as director. McGregor will play a Rolling Stone journalist and Saldana will play Davis's ex-wife, Frances.
Kill the Trumpet Player will focus on "a few dangerous days in the life of Miles Davis, as he bursts out of his silent period and conspires with a Rolling Stone writer (McGregor) to steal back his music", according to The Hollywood Reporter. This presumably refers to the period after the 1975 Newport Jazz Festival,...
• Don Cheadle: 'Acting can be a grind'
• Don Cheadle's Davis biopic will be a 'gangster' film
Don Cheadle's Kill The Trumpet Player, the actor's take on the "silent period" of jazz trumpeter Miles Davis, will co-star Ewan McGregor and Star Trek actor Zoe Saldana.
The film is co-written by Cheadle and will be his first as director. McGregor will play a Rolling Stone journalist and Saldana will play Davis's ex-wife, Frances.
Kill the Trumpet Player will focus on "a few dangerous days in the life of Miles Davis, as he bursts out of his silent period and conspires with a Rolling Stone writer (McGregor) to steal back his music", according to The Hollywood Reporter. This presumably refers to the period after the 1975 Newport Jazz Festival,...
- 11/14/2013
- by Henry Barnes
- The Guardian - Film News
After years of trying to get a film about Miles Davis made, Don Cheadle will star and make his directorial debut with Kill The Trumpet Player. The film picks up additional talent in Ewan McGregor and Zoe Saldana. The screenplay was written by Cheadle along with Steven Baigelman. Cheadle has been linked to the film going back to 2006 and it is just now getting off the ground. At one point there was a film about Davis being developed by Notorious director George Tillman Jr. Cheadle was not...
- 11/13/2013
- by Alex Maidy
- JoBlo.com
And just when you thought he couldn’t attach himself to any more projects, Antoine Fuqua has added another film to his long list of movies that most of which will probably never get made. This time the Training Day director is rumored to be helming Don Cheadle‘s forever-in-pre-production Miles Davis project.
In an interview with Davis’ son, Erin Davis, and his nephew Vince Wilburn Jr on Miles Davis Online (via ShadowandAct), the pair talked with Wall Street Journal’s Lee Hawkins about the project, revealing new and unheard details. They are currently working with Cheadle to get the project moving and have also told us that Fuqua will be directing the film. However, we haven’t gotten any word from Cheadle regarding this news, so it could all be a fabrication of some kind.
In order to get a broader sense of the project for fans of Davis‘ work,...
In an interview with Davis’ son, Erin Davis, and his nephew Vince Wilburn Jr on Miles Davis Online (via ShadowandAct), the pair talked with Wall Street Journal’s Lee Hawkins about the project, revealing new and unheard details. They are currently working with Cheadle to get the project moving and have also told us that Fuqua will be directing the film. However, we haven’t gotten any word from Cheadle regarding this news, so it could all be a fabrication of some kind.
In order to get a broader sense of the project for fans of Davis‘ work,...
- 6/19/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
Update: According to Don, it isn't actually a biopic. Here's what he tweeted:
"@hypetrak wrong on 2 counts. not doing a play Or a biopic but I Am doing a movie based on his life..."
----
So, word of this one has been in the works for plenty of time now in the rumor and interview arena, and after our more than slight wait, Don Cheadle has finally confirmed that he's set to play jazz master Miles Davis in a biopic (apparently is isn't a biopic) directed by George Tillman Jr. (directed Notorious...yeah...), which, you know, is flawless considering Don's about the closest thing you could find to matching up someone to play Davis.
However, according to Cheadle, the biopic isn't set to be your usual career coverage:
“His story won’t be a straightforward biopic so much as a 'cubist' 'gangster pic' set in 1979, when the iconic American musician...
"@hypetrak wrong on 2 counts. not doing a play Or a biopic but I Am doing a movie based on his life..."
----
So, word of this one has been in the works for plenty of time now in the rumor and interview arena, and after our more than slight wait, Don Cheadle has finally confirmed that he's set to play jazz master Miles Davis in a biopic (apparently is isn't a biopic) directed by George Tillman Jr. (directed Notorious...yeah...), which, you know, is flawless considering Don's about the closest thing you could find to matching up someone to play Davis.
However, according to Cheadle, the biopic isn't set to be your usual career coverage:
“His story won’t be a straightforward biopic so much as a 'cubist' 'gangster pic' set in 1979, when the iconic American musician...
- 5/31/2012
- by JT Langley
- Filmology
[1] When we first reported [2] on the impending Miles Davis biopic from Notorious director George Tillman Jr. this past fall, we wondered how that news might affect the other Davis picture, which actor Don Cheadle has been developing for the past several years. As it turns out, Cheadle's not too worried -- because his story won't be a straightforward biopic so much as a "cubist" "gangster pic" set in 1979, when the iconic American musician wasn't even active in the music world. Wait, what? Read his quotes after the jump. Cheadle confirmed to The Wall Street Journal [3] in a recent interview that his Davis project is still in progress, with a studio offer and budget negotiations currently underway. He also stated that he was working with the family and had rights to all the music needed for the film. Asked about Tillman's competing movie, Cheadle seemed unconcerned. "Look, if the world is...
- 1/3/2012
- by Angie Han
- Slash Film
Don Cheadle Gives An Update on His 'Gangster' Miles Davis Biopic It's been a year since we last heard about Don Cheadle's proposed Miles Davis biopic. Cheadle is planning on directing and starring as Davis in this passion project of his which has received approval from Davis' estate and attached Herbie Hancock to score. Despite a rival Davis biopic being helmed by Notorious director George Tillman Jr. currently in pre-production, Cheadle is still confident his movie will get made. "We have a studio offer and we're trying to back into a budget number, without gutting the piece. It's not a biopic per se. It's a gangster pic. It's a movie that Miles Davis would have wanted to star in." Cheadle says most of the story takes place in 1979, in a period where...
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- 1/3/2012
- by affiliates@fandango.com
- Fandango
Don Cheadle has been trying to get a biopic of jazz legend Miles Davis made for ages now, planning to direct and star himself. It had sort of dropped off the radar in recent years, and the announcement back in November that director George Tillman Jr. was heading up a Davis biopic left some wondering what that meant for Cheadle's long-gestating project. A new interview with the Wall Street Journal reveals that Cheadle's project is, in fact, not dead, and may also be taking a form nobody would have expected. First off, there's some good news for anyone looking forward to Cheadle's take on the musician. Cheadle told the newspaper that they've got a studio offer for the film, and that right now they're negotiating about budget. Good to hear, great to see things progressing. That, however, is when things start to get weird. Cheadle explains his take on the...
- 1/2/2012
- cinemablend.com
Don Cheadle‘s been wanting to play tortured jazz genius Miles Davis for a while now. In the meantime, a rival Miles Davis project, titled Miles with Notorious and Faster helmer George Tillman Jr. signed on to direct, has been announced and is in pre-production stages. Even still, Cheadle’s confident in his adaptation, one he hopes to star in, direct and produce.
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Cheadle offered his (begrudged) blessing to the Tillman project, then had a lot to say about his passion piece [via The Playlist]:
“…It’s not a biopic, per se. It’s a gangster pic. It’s a movie that Miles Davis would have wanted to star in. Without throwing history away, we’re trying to shuffle it and make it more cubist. The bulk of it takes place in ’79, in a period where he actually wasn’t playing. But we traverse a lot of it his life,...
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Cheadle offered his (begrudged) blessing to the Tillman project, then had a lot to say about his passion piece [via The Playlist]:
“…It’s not a biopic, per se. It’s a gangster pic. It’s a movie that Miles Davis would have wanted to star in. Without throwing history away, we’re trying to shuffle it and make it more cubist. The bulk of it takes place in ’79, in a period where he actually wasn’t playing. But we traverse a lot of it his life,...
- 1/2/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
Adds There Is A Studio Offer, But Still Working Out Budget It was a year ago that we last heard about Don Cheadle’s proposed Miles Davis biopic. A long gestating passion project for the actor, Cheadle has been talking the picture up for quite awhile now, planning to direct and star as Davis himself, with the picture receiving approval from Davis’ estate and label for use of the legendary musician's work in the film, and Herbie Hancock has long been attached to score. Despite a rival Davis biopic having gotten up and running with “Notorious” director George Tillman Jr. since our last update from Cheadle, it looks as if the wheels are still in motion for the ambitious actor who still seems ready to tackle the life story of the jazz legend. Talking to the Wall Street Journal (via Shadow & Act) about his upcoming Showtime television series “House of Lies,...
- 1/2/2012
- The Playlist
George Tillman Jr. ("Faster") will direct "Miles", a biopic about legendary jazz musician Miles Davis reports Risky Biz Blog.
The project is loosely based on book "Dark Magus" written by Davis’ eldest son. Isaac Fergusson penned the original draft which the filmmakers will further develop. Davis was a major influencer in the music world for five decades and along the way overcame his own addiction issues.
Co-producer Nick Davis Raynes says the plan is to do a wide-appealing film along "Walk The Line" and "Ray" lines.
The project is loosely based on book "Dark Magus" written by Davis’ eldest son. Isaac Fergusson penned the original draft which the filmmakers will further develop. Davis was a major influencer in the music world for five decades and along the way overcame his own addiction issues.
Co-producer Nick Davis Raynes says the plan is to do a wide-appealing film along "Walk The Line" and "Ray" lines.
- 11/10/2011
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
[1] George Tillman Jr., who previously brought rapper Notorious B.I.G.'s life to the big screen in Notorious, is lined up to direct another musical biopic, this time about legendary jazz musician Miles Davis. Tentatively titled Miles, the project is based on the book Dark Magus: The Jekyll and Hyde Life of Miles Davis by Davis' son Gregory Davis. Gregory Davis will serve as a consultant on the picture, with Nick Davis Raynes and Ged Dickersin and lined up to produce. More details after the jump. Isaac Fergusson has already written the first draft of the screenplay, but according to The Hollywood Reporter [2] the filmmakers are continuing to develop the script. "Our intention is to make a feature film that will appeal beyond the worldwide audience of Miles Davis die-hard fans, to also include those who don't know the first thing about the man, and introduce new ears to his music,...
- 11/10/2011
- by Angie Han
- Slash Film
Soul Food and Men of Honor director George Tillman Jr., who captured Notorious B.I.G..s life story in the 2009 biopic Notorious, will take a swing at another musical icon when he tackles Miles Davis in a planned biopic. Tentatively titled Miles, the film is being developed by the late trumpeter.s son, Gregory, The Hollywood Reporter says. Producers Nick Davis Raynes and Ged Dickersin, who will adapt their picture from Gregory.s book Dark Magus: The Jekyll and Hyde Life of Miles Davis, say they.d like to create a biopic that introduces the Jazz legend to new fans. .In much the same way that Walk The Line and Ray were able to open the world's eyes to the life stories of Johnny Cash and Ray Charles, respectively, we want to make a film that will do the same justice for Miles Davis. Miles, in his fifty-year career ...
- 11/10/2011
- cinemablend.com
The man behind Biggie Smalls film Notorious to helm picture based on Dark Magus, a book by Davis's eldest son, Gregory
A biopic of jazz legend Miles Davis looks set to go into production after it was annouced that director George Tillman Jr has signed up to the project.
Currently titled Miles Davis, the film will draw on the book Dark Magus: The Jekyll and Hyde Life of Miles Davis by Davis's eldest son, Gregory Davis, and will be able to use Davis's music in its score.
Davis's turbulent life, which included a string of seminal albums as well as drug and alcohol addictions and relentless womanising, is natural fodder for a movie adaptation. The actor Don Cheadle has been developing his own project for a number of years in conjunction with another of Davis's sons, Erin, but now looks to have been beaten to the wire.
Tillman recently directed Notorious,...
A biopic of jazz legend Miles Davis looks set to go into production after it was annouced that director George Tillman Jr has signed up to the project.
Currently titled Miles Davis, the film will draw on the book Dark Magus: The Jekyll and Hyde Life of Miles Davis by Davis's eldest son, Gregory Davis, and will be able to use Davis's music in its score.
Davis's turbulent life, which included a string of seminal albums as well as drug and alcohol addictions and relentless womanising, is natural fodder for a movie adaptation. The actor Don Cheadle has been developing his own project for a number of years in conjunction with another of Davis's sons, Erin, but now looks to have been beaten to the wire.
Tillman recently directed Notorious,...
- 11/10/2011
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
Miles Davies, the unwitting father figure of cool jazz as well as of jazz fusion, who endlessly reinvented himself and evolved as a musician and a composer, for almost fifty years, will finally make it way to the big screen. Helmer George Tillman (Notorious, Soul Food) has been hired to develop and direct a feature [...]
Continue reading Director George Tillman Jr. to Helm Miles Davis Biopic on FilmoFilia.
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Continue reading Director George Tillman Jr. to Helm Miles Davis Biopic on FilmoFilia.
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- 11/10/2011
- by Nick Martin
- Filmofilia
After directing a biopic on the late hip-hop artist Notorious B.I.G. with the aptly titled film Notorious, director George Tillman, Jr. is slated to bring another influential musician's life story to the big screen. Risky Biz reports the filmmaker has been hired to develop and direct a film about iconic jazz musician Miles Davis, a biopic with the unpredictable title of Miles. Loosely based on his son Gregory Davis' book Dark Magus: The Jekyll and Hyde of Miles Davis, the film will focus on the musician's rise to fame, collaborations with legends like John Coltrane and Thelonius Monk, and his struggles with drug addition. Ged Dickinson and Nick Davis Raynes will produce the film and the latter says: “Our intention is to make a feature film that will appeal beyond the worldwide audience of Miles Davis die-hard fans, to also include those who don't know the first thing about the man,...
- 11/10/2011
- by Ethan Anderton
- firstshowing.net
Here's a terrible idea! THR's Risky Business blog is reporting that George Tillman Jr. - director of the terribly generic Biggie Smalls biopic Notorious and the middle-of-the-road Dwayne Johnson actioner Faster - has been hired to develop and direct Miles, a biopic on one of jazz's most influential badasses, Miles Davis. Screenwriting newcomer Isaac Fergusson wrote the project's original draft (though the filmmakers are currently "revising" it) which is loosely based on Dark...
- 11/10/2011
- by George Merchan
- JoBlo.com
Joshua Marston put a big stamp on independent cinema with 2004′s praised Maria Full of Grace… and then disappeared. Okay, perhaps I’m being a little overdramatic (he isn’t D.B. Cooper), but he followed that feature debut with episodes of TV shows ranging in quality from Six Feet Under to Swingtown, and only got around to releasing another film this year, The Forgiveness of Blood. (To his credit, it played at both Telluride and Tiff, and is Albania’s submission for Best Foreign Language Film, so it might be worth something.) He’ll begin to move at a more consistent rate with projects, then, because THR informs us that he’s remaking Italy’s thriller, The Double Hour.
Giuseppe Capotondi‘s original film centered on “a Slovenian hotel maid and an ex-cop who fall in love after meeting at a speed-dating event.” After “retreat[ing] to his employer’s house in the Turin countryside,...
Giuseppe Capotondi‘s original film centered on “a Slovenian hotel maid and an ex-cop who fall in love after meeting at a speed-dating event.” After “retreat[ing] to his employer’s house in the Turin countryside,...
- 11/10/2011
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
In The Works: Miles Davis Biopic Based on His Son's Book, Dark Magus; George Tillman Jr. at the Helm
Beloved jazz musician Miles Davis is getting a biopic. George Tillman, Jr. (Soul Food, Men of Honor, Notorious) will develop the project in cahoots with Davis' eldest son, Gregory Davis, upon whose book, Dark Magus: The Jekyll and Hyde Life of Miles Davis, the screenplay is loosely based (an initial draft was written by Isaac Ferguson). Nick Davis Raynes and Ged Dickinson are producing. Raynes says the goal is to make a film that appeals to a worldwide audience, not just die-hard fans of the musician. “In much the same way that Walk The Line and Ray were able to open the world's eyes to the life stories of Johnny Cash and Ray Charles, respectively, we want to make a film that will do the same justice for Miles Davis. Miles, in his fifty-year career as a musician, transcends time, space and race."...
- 11/9/2011
- Indiewire
In The Works: Miles Davis Biopic Based on His Son's Book, Dark Magus; George Tillman Jr. at the Helm
Beloved jazz musician Miles Davis is getting a biopic. George Tillman, Jr. (Soul Food, Men of Honor, Notorious) will develop the project in cahoots with Davis' eldest son, Gregory Davis, upon whose book, Dark Magus: The Jekyll and Hyde Life of Miles Davis, the screenplay is loosely based (an initial draft was written by Isaac Ferguson). Nick Davis Raynes and Ged Dickinson are producing. Raynes says the goal is to make a film that appeals to a worldwide audience, not just die-hard fans of the musician. “In much the same way that Walk The Line and Ray were able to open the world's eyes to the life stories of Johnny Cash and Ray Charles, respectively, we want to make a film that...
- 11/9/2011
- Thompson on Hollywood
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