Jamie Foxx is taking on another musical icon: According to the Hollywood Reporter, the former Ray star has acquired rights to the life story of Marvin Gaye and is set to executive-produce a biographical limited series alongside multimedia producer Suzanne de Passe, who has been involved in previous attempts to dramatize Gaye’s life, and Madison Jones, who is set to shop the project to linear and digital distributors.
“I’ve been a huge fan my whole life. His brilliance in music unparalleled,” Foxx said. “Marvin Gaye’s story has always fascinated me.”
Gaye is one artist that Hollywood has tried to make something out of for years, but to no avail. Straight Outta Compton director F. Gary Gray secured rights to Gaye’s catalog in 2008 with the intention of helming a film about him. Cameron Crowe (Almost Famous) had a potential project in the works in 2011, with Terrence Howard circling the role, but it pushed up against Julien Temple’s Sexual Healing, a long-gestating biopic that had Lenny Kravitz, Jesse L. Martin, and even the late James Gandolfini attached during various stages of development. None of these projects ended up seeing the light of day, however, in large part due to the Gaye family’s staunch objections.
Indeed, by receiving authorization from the Gaye family, Foxx’s series may be able to buck the trend. Marvin Gaye III, the singer’s son, is on board as an executive producer—especially notable since he threatened legal action against Temple’s film after Kravitz was cast—while Motown founder Berry Gordy has also approved of the project. “Marvin was the truest artist I have ever known,” Gordy told the Hollywood Reporter. “I am confident that this is the right team to bring his story to the audience in an authentic and compelling way.”
