The Miles Davis Movie: Better as A Documentary Film?
April 22, 2009
I read an article in Variety about the difficult marketplace for music documentaries.
We’ve definitely come a long way from the Oscar-winning “Woodstock” and other classic, music docs like (the awesome) “The Last Waltz” and (equally great) “Stop Making Sense” — there have been plenty of good music films over the years, but the market has changed, how entertainment is consumed keeps evolving and this leaves music projects without proper distribution, or none at all.
As noted in the article, “Much of it has to do with round-the-clock access to popular music via cable and the Net, with sites like YouTube and Wolfgangsvault offering free streaming and downloads of rare and vintage performances that were once the exclusive domain of bootleg collectors, not to mention the increasing audio and video sophistication of home theater systems.”
I discussed awhile back if a biopic about Miles Davis would be better served by a 9-part Ken Burns documentary on PBS. Maybe 9-parts is a personal dream, but I still wonder if it’s a more accommodating venue for telling the complete story as opposed to a 2½-hour film. I even mentioned the idea of a 5-part/10-hour HBO movie event (like “John Adams”) that provides the luxury of time to tell the complete story.
But then there’s a music documentary – like “The Last Waltz.” I can only imagine the wealth of archived footage wherein to find live performance, interviews and who knows what else. Then, of course, you get the appropriate talking heads to give the project its necessary gravitas.
I should add that, according to Miles Davis biopic screenwriter Christopher Wilkinson’s IMDB page, there is a Miles Davis documentary currently in production and, I believe, slated to air on HBO.
Whether or not it’s shaping up to be an updated version of The Miles Davis Story, which came out in 2001, I don’t know, but a new documentary is forthcoming; not sure if it’s just a coincidence that one of the biopic screenwriters is directing the TV doc.
And though I welcome a new TV project about Miles Davis, a theatrical documentary is a different beast. But after reading about the state of new films, featuring big names and classic bands, having a tough go in the marketplace, maybe it’s best to keep the focus on Don Cheadle’s movie version of the Miles Davis story.
Is a music documentary about Miles Davis commercially and financially viable? That all depends how you measure it, but I’ll say the movie would draw crowds worldwide. It’s a project that may require a bigger name in the director’s chair (besides Cheadle), or some Hollywood heft in the supporting roles, and would presumably use the film festival circuit as a launch pad, but overall I think it’s a feasible endeavor.
I’m a fan of musical/non-musical film documentaries, so a project about Miles Davis is right in my wheelhouse, but I’d be lying if I said I’m not more than a little anxious to see what a talent like Don Cheadle can do with the story of the jazz icon.
The Miles Davis story deserves the majesty of cinema and all the Hollywood, hype, fascination and glamour that goes with it.
The Miles Davis Movie: What A Long, Strange Trip It Still Is
April 19, 2009
When all is said and done there’s going to quite a story to write about the saga of bringing the life of Miles Davis to the big screen. There’s been one project or another circling the development track for years; one example from way back in 1993 had reports of Wesley Snipes preparing to star as the jazz icon, and just a few years ago Quincy Troupe’s “Miles and Me” was the possible foundation for a film.
What we have right now, and what appears the best hope for a big-screen version of Miles’ life, is an “authorized” biopic with the blessing of the Miles Davis estate; reports of the biopic hit the news cycle in March 2007 with the story about Don Cheadle lining up future projects to produce and star in. It was reported that Cheadle would make the Davis biopic his feature directing debut and that Stephen J. Rivele and Chris Wilkinson were writing the screenplay.
Cheadle set up the projects through his Crescendo Prods. and is producing the biopic with Cary Brokaw and Vince Wilburn Jr. and Darryl Porter of Miles Davis Properties.
Perhaps the most critical element in all of this is Cheadle’s team securing music and life rights to the jazz legend’s story, which gives the undertaking the requisite gravitas to become the ‘official’ biopic of Miles Davis.
(Cheadle’s participation in “Iron Man 2” and “The Avengers,” among other projects, has added barriers to any real momentum toward getting production started on the biopic. This isn’t to say I’m not thrilled for Cheadle’s much-deserved roles in Hollywood blockbusters, or any movie he takes on, but the state of the Miles Davis biopic is what draws my interest, concern and allegiance.)
But two years later and the Miles Davis biopic continues in its comfortable status of in-development.
Needless to say the endeavor to get a film made about Miles Davis is creating quite the folklore.
I found a good post on Doug Ramsey’s Rifftides Blog from November 2006 called Miles Davis: The Movie?. Ramsey had some thoughts on the news of two, possible motion pictures that were being discussed for the Miles Davis story; one, the above-mentioned project based on Quincy Troupe’s memoir, which would go under the ‘unauthorized’ category, and the ‘authorized’ biopic from the estate, which we know today as the Don Cheadle project.
Three years later and still no movie. Progress has been made by virtue of a script floating around town somewhere and Cheadle offering up a few, subtle clues about his vision for the biopic, but any hope for a production start date is a ways off.
It’s been brought up before, and I’ve wondered as well, if the story of the Prince of Darkness is un-filmable. My stock answer is usually ‘no,’ but I’ll admit it’s definitely a tall order. But I have hope. I firmly believe Cheadle is the best actor to portray Miles Davis (a career-defining role in my opinion) and tell the story. He might be envisioning something non-traditional in how to ‘film’ that story, but I’m confident it’ll be special.
Back in ‘06 Ramsey recalled an encounter with Miles Davis and then added this about the possibility of a biopic: “If there is a movie, I hope it includes that thoughtful facet of a complicated man.”
Here we are in 2009 and the “If” still rings as loud… as we wait.
And wait.
Miles Davis wins the Grammy! “Kind Of Blue: 50th Anniversary Collector’s Edition” wins the Grammy for Best Album Notes
February 9, 2009
Congratulations Francis Davis, who wrote the album notes, Columbia/Legacy Recordings and everyone involved with the “Kind of Blue: 50th Anniversary Collector’s Edition” for winning the Grammy for Best Album Notes.
The Miles Davis Movie: PG-13 or Rated R?
January 28, 2009
No biopic of Miles Davis, be it traditional narrative or off the wall bizarre, is going to be genuine without a great deal of bad language. The man could turn a phrase, as it were.
Flip through a few pages of his entertaining autobiography (here’s page 65!) and it’s clear Miles Davis had a talent for the profane.
But it was always more than just one “motherf**ker” after another. To categorize Miles as simply a master of dirty words is missing the bigger picture entirely. Amid the obscene language is much wisdom and understanding, a gift for storytelling and a ‘cool,’ linguistic style. Some people just have a way of putting things. Certainly after awhile the expletives can feel like a brick to the head, but there was often ‘truth’ wrapped up with the colorful language.
Nevertheless, Miles Davis could rock the bad words – no way around it. And that was just who he was/is. So for the biopic I wonder how much profanity is already in the script and just how much they will allow in the film. I figure anything under 20 “motherf**kers” and it’s just not cricket.
And here is where the MPAA comes into play, while Don Cheadle and team have to decide whether or not the Miles Davis biopic is going to built for Rated R or PG-13.
Personally I think it can succeed either way; let’s figure not too much violence and sex, but a heavy dose of strong language, alcohol/drug content and the always helpful ‘adult themes.’
I checked IMDB, and for a traditional music biopic like Ray, the MPAA gave it a PG-13 rating for ‘depiction of drug addiction, sexuality and some thematic elements.’ On the flip side, a non-traditional music biopic such as I’m Not There was Rated R for ‘language, some sexuality and nudity.’
You could make the case that an R rating might hurt the film at the box office, but then again The Godfather is Rated R, so that’s about as good a counter-argument as it gets. Perhaps it doesn’t really matter as long as the film is great.
It’s interesting, not too mention frustrating, how the MPAA ratings systems works. There’s a wealth of excellent anti-ratings system material to get a feel for some of the hypocrisy and silliness surrounding the process of putting a rating on a film. Kirby Dick’s This Film Is Not Yet Rated is a fantastic documentary which explores the American movie ratings board.
Now if I could only get my hands on that script I’d have a much better idea of where this Miles Davis biopic ship is headed….
Miles Davis and the road to success
January 23, 2009
Great post over at Prevential, Derek Halpern’s online resource for success driven individuals, by Matt Rodela called A Lesson in Cool: What Miles Davis Taught Us About Success.
A jazz fan with a penchant for entrepreneurship, Rodela illustrates how music and business are connected. It’s an interesting breakdown of how many of the techniques Miles Davis used during his career to ’stay ahead of the curve’ can be helpful in the pursuit of achieving success.
Rodela writes, “There is a lot that this genius of hip can teach us about being successful.”
Amen to that.
Miles Davis & Movie Marketing
January 19, 2009
One day someone is going to have to develop a marketing campaign for the Miles Davis biopic; this issue interests me a great deal because the advertising/marketing component of a film, big or small, can be the difference between success and failure – regardless if the movie is any good or not.
So I wanted to link to a Tad Friend report in a recent issue of The New Yorker that goes deep Inside a movie marketer’s playbook. It’s an interesting read and gives a detailed account of the hard work, stress and creativity that goes into getting people to the movie theatre. Not an easy task these days.
Don Cheadle inks TV production deal; ‘Miles Davis’ the TV series sounds like a great idea!
January 15, 2009
Don Cheadle is looking to broaden his creative endeavors by dipping a toe into the TV ‘biz. The talented actor and star of the one-day-it-will-be-here biopic of Miles Davis signed a two-year deal at Universal Media Studios.
Under the pact, announced Thursday during NBC’s portion of the winter Television Critics Assn. press tour, Cheadle’s Crescendo Prods. will develop series projects for the studio.
Crescendo recently signed a two-year feature deal with Overture Films, but I’m not sure if Overture is in play for the Miles Davis biopic at this point. They recently produced “Traitor” and the documentary “Darfur Now.”
Seriously – a TV series based on the life and times of Miles Davis? How is that not appointment television? A mini-series might not be too terrible either.
In truth, I don’t think the deal means Cheadle is going to start acting on TV (although he was awesome in a guest spot on “ER” and has appeared on a bunch of series in the past), but at least it’s nice to know someone with his talent will be developing projects for the little screen.
The Miles Davis Movie: Next year (or the next) at Sundance?
January 15, 2009
The bacchanal of independent cinema, Hollywood business and celebrity worship known as the Sundance Film Festival kicks off today in idyllic Park City (at least when the town isn’t overrun by the festival). It’s another year loaded with buzz-worthy indie flicks and sleeper titles all vying for that lucrative distribution deal.
So as the curtain for this year’s Sundance opens I begin to wonder if the Miles Davis biopic is destined to be an entry one of these years… albeit a high-profile entry, but a project nevertheless in search of a studio to distribute the film. I touched on the distribution issue back in June.
I’ve wondered about Cannes as a possible starting point for the movie (you can add Venice and Toronto to the mix as well). But assuming the biopic is without a distributor in place when production wraps then might we be seeing the Miles Davis biopic traveling to the ski slopes and movie houses of Park City in 2010, or – gasp! – 2011?
All the talk lately about the (surprising) release date for Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds has me revisiting a post I wrote last summer about the best time of year to release a Miles Davis biopic.
Needless to say the announcement from The Weinstein Company of an August 21, 2009 nationwide release for “Inglorious Basterds” was met with skepticism.
Defamer’s STV noted that August 21 is “…traditionally the place films like Bangkok Dangerous, College and God knows what else go to die before flourishing in the DVD/Flopz™ afterlife.”
The Playlist agrees, adding, “is this counter-programming on the Weinstein’s Company’s part hoping ‘Basterds’ will wipe out the non-existent competition and kids won’t be on a last hurrah vacation before they have to go back to school (presuming they sneak into the sure-to-be R-rated film)?”
It’s an interesting debate considering the early hype for the film, but Lord knows the release date can change quickly.
I go back to a June post where I said the Miles Davis biopic does not scream summer to me. And with the Don Cheadle-as-Miles Davis part of the equation, you can definitely count on the film to hit Oscar’s radar, so a fall release might be ideal.
Defamer mentions a possible Cannes debut for ‘Basterds,’ which I had wondered about for the Miles Davis movie, and says even a Venice and Toronto opening could push the Brad Pitt flick into a “mild, mid-September prestige slot.”
We’re still a long way from discussing release dates for the Miles Davis biopic, but it’s a great topic considering the links between release date and critical/box office/awards success.
The Miles Davis Movie
