Earlier this year there was news of two Marvin Gaye biopics in the early stages of production. The first, called Sexual Healing, is slated for release sometime next year and the second, called Marvin, should hit theaters in 2010. It appears that at the core of the differences between the two is rights to Gaye's catalog of music. It appears that the brilliantly cast Jesse L. Martin will only be singing his post-Motown music in Sexual Healing, which works because this biopic is solely about his life after Motown. In Marvin, however, director F. Gary Gray was able to get rights to Gaye's entire catalog, thus making a biopic about his whole life and career possible.
It's impossible to say what is going on with either production at this
point since the most recent news about either is months old. But with
the plots of the two films appearing to hinge mostly on music rights,
an important question to consider is if either will really grapple with
the complexities, triumphs and tragedies of Gaye's by interweaving the
music into the larger narrative or by allowing the music to take
precedence over throughout. If they're still happening, how would you
like to see them manifest? Does his music tell his whole story? Should the
music lead the films? [H/T: VT/CC]
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