After nearly ten years in development and twenty-four since his death, iconic musician Miles Davis will finally have his story told on the big screen courtesy of star and director Don Cheadle. After raising funds via IndieGoGo and gathering a cast that includes Ewan McGregor, Michael Stuhlbarg and Emayatzy Corinealdi, Cheadle’s film will begin production this week in Cincinnati.
Cheadle has been the one constant as multiple directors and financiers have come and gone. But, in the end, MILES AHEAD will benefit from being crowdsourced as the independent film finally begins production with the blessing of Miles Davis’ family. Cheadle shared a first look at his portrayal of Davis with Entertainment Weekly along with some background on the film’s structure.
Well, the construction of the movie is the parallel story of Miles in 1979 at the end of this quiet period he was in, the five-year stretch of time when he wasn’t playing and performing and recording, juxtaposed against the 10-year period where he was with Francis Taylor Davis, who, at the time, was the love of his life and his muse.
Miles Davis had wildly different genres to his credit over the years, many of which are so vastly different that people don’t always like the same albums. But, his story is incredibly diverse and fascinating and should make for one hell of a movie. Cheadle is being smart by not making this a traditional biopic and instead focusing on a specific era in Davis’ life. All I know is that I am very excited to see what he can bring to the story both in front and behind the camera.
MILES AHEAD has no release date but expect it to hit the festival circuit early next year.
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