According to Deadline, Warner Bros. paid upwards of $80 million for the script for the Marvin Gaye biopic What’s Going On, penned by poet and writer Marcus Gardley while Allen Hughes – whose prior directing credits include The Book of Eli and Menace II Society has been chosen as the film’s director.
Hughes said of his appointment: “This is so personal for me,” he said. “When I made my first film with my brother, we were fortunate to get What’s Going On into the trailer for Menace 2 Society, and it was a game changer in elevating the marketing of that film. Every film of mine but the period film From Hell had some Marvin Gaye in it, and I’ve just always connected to him.”
Adding: “He’s the artist’s artist, with this ethereal voice that just comes out of the heavens. There have been plenty of great artists, and then Marvin, in his own lane.”
Serving as producers for the biopic will be Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine whose relationship with Hughes traces back to his work on the HBO miniseries The Defiant Ones, which chronicled Dre and Iovine’s collaboration in 2017.
Hughes went on to explain: “You’ve heard of all these big name directors that have tried for 35 years to consolidate these rights,” he said. “This started with Dre, saying let’s do this together, and then Jimmy came on, and Andrew Lazar, and we worked with the estate, with Motown and some other things that needed to be tied down, and we got it done.”
According to Deadline, the biopic would be more of a “musical odyssey and theatrical experience” honoring the late legend, with a focus on the ladies in his life who impacted his career and inspired his best love songs. The film will explore his tumultuous relationship with his father, as well as other incidents from his background that influenced his most recent tour.
What’s Going On is set to begin filming next year, with a potential release date of 2023 in cinemas and on HBO Max.
Education: Computer Network Engineering, Computer Desktop Administration
Fave Song: Destiny's Child 'Dangerously in love'
Fave Colour: Grey.
With £1m what would you do: I would do my part to provide opportunities to the less fortunate. Then do my best to change the world in my own way through sports and talent building.
