Marvin Gaye's Eldest Son Begs Lenny Kravitz to Drop Out of Father's Biopic

[midnightman]

Marvin Gaye's Son Not Happy About Planned Movie

Singer and actor Lenny Kravitz is planning to take on playing late performer Marvin Gaye in a feature that has caught the eire of the "Let Love Rule" musician's former classmate, Marvin Gaye III.

"The producers and directors of this film are very wrong and shameful," Marvin Gaye III told TMZ. "[They're] trying to do a film about a low period in his life. They don't even know the whole story."

Kravitz will play the late singer under the working title, Sexual Healing, which reportedly centers on Gaye's life in the '80s, a period in which he battled drug abuse and depression.

Gaye's father shot and killed him in 1984.

Gaye III said that he and Kravitz are schoolmates and continue to be friends, but said he wants to meet with Kravitz and "talk to him about why he would do this."

Family members including Gaye III have reached out to lawyers to try and halt production and expressed his hope that Kravitz is pursuing the project without realizing the extent of opposition coming from the Gaye side.

"I would hope [Kravitz] doesn't have any idea that we are against this film being done," said Gaye III.

Kravitz, whose credits include Precious and more recently in The Hunger Games is taking on the role of Marvin Gaye for director Julien Temple [[London: The Modern Babylon).

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LINK: http://movies.yahoo.com/news/marvin-gayes-son-not-thrilled-lenny-kravitz-planned-171059376.html

[arrr&bee]

After all these years and rumors of is it gonna get done i don't like the premise of this biopic,do a film based on marvin's whole career not just the end of it for folks not familar with marvin they would think the end was all he was about when he was so much more,i say please reconsider this project and tell the whole story...spike lee where are you??

[midnightman]

Or just cancel it. At this point, biopics are useless. And this will probably bomb. I doubt it will be a success anyway.

[jboy88]

If you're not gonna do Marvin's story right, don't do it at all. A movie on his last years would be just boring and depressing. I prefer a TV mini-series like the Temps and the Jacksons, that focus on the entire phase of his career.

[skooldem1]

Why are some so pressed on what they think the movie will be about? So concerned about the negative, but yet they don't hesitate to push negative stories of artist they don't like. The movie may not be as bad as some think. It may show Marvin down and out, but then end with his comeback- and then at the very end only make mention of the circumstances surrounding his death. But ultimately it could just be about his comeback.

[marv2]

I don't blame him. Lenny is all wrong for this part. They need a more mature lead. Someone cool.

[midnightman]

Why are some so pressed on what they think the movie will be about? So concerned about the negative, but yet they don't hesitate to push negative stories of artist they don't like. The movie may not be as bad as some think. It may show Marvin down and out, but then end with his comeback- and then at the very end only make mention of the circumstances surrounding his death. But ultimately it could just be about his comeback.

My thing ain't really about the film. It's not talking with the man's family that concerns me. And MG III probably thinks this is another attempt to defame his father's name.

[Boogiedown]

I don't blame him. Lenny is all wrong for this part. They need a more mature lead. Someone cool.
that's where I thought the son was going in objecting to Lenny being in the film - wrong for the part. Marvin was lean and silky.
Lenny's coarse and bulky .

[StuBass1]

I happened to meet with Marvin lll several years back quite by accident. He was Marvins adopted son as I remember. We met in a professional relationship, but when I told him about how I used to see and meet his dad back in the day when Marvin would ride his little Honda 50 over to Smokeys house [[who was a neighbor of ours back then) and mentioned the motorscooter, Marvin lll had no idea his dad used to putt around on a little scooter back in the 60's. Marvin lll seemed really surprised and informed me that he happened to be the top "black" motocross racer in California. He was really taken a bit aback that his dad liked riding 2 wheel vehicles as he did. It was actually a bit surreal to me at the time. Point being that Marvin lll is likely quite interested in his fathers legacy and interested in possibly supressing a negative image via biopic to perhaps hoping for a more positive image which could be demonstrated on focusing on Marvins entire career. I know that producer Cameron Crowe was working on his own Marvin Gaye biopic a few years ago and pulled out, apparently because he was having trouble securing licensing rights to Marvins music.

[marv2]

I happened to meet with Marvin lll several years back quite by accident. He was Marvins adopted son as I remember. We met in a professional relationship, but when I told him about how I used to see and meet his dad back in the day when Marvin would ride his little Honda 50 over to Smokeys house [[who was a neighbor of ours back then) and mentioned the motorscooter, Marvin lll had no idea his dad used to putt around on a little scooter back in the 60's. Marvin lll seemed really surprised and informed me that he happened to be the top "black" motocross racer in California. He was really taken a bit aback that his dad liked riding 2 wheel vehicles as he did. It was actually a bit surreal to me at the time. Point being that Marvin lll is likely quite interested in his fathers legacy and interested in possibly supressing a negative image via biopic to perhaps hoping for a more positive image which could be demonstrated on focusing on Marvins entire career. I know that producer Cameron Crowe was working on his own Marvin Gaye biopic a few years ago and pulled out, apparently because he was having trouble securing licensing rights to Marvins music.

That is a great story. Thanks Stu for sharing.

[midnightman]

I happened to meet with Marvin lll several years back quite by accident. He was Marvins adopted son as I remember. We met in a professional relationship, but when I told him about how I used to see and meet his dad back in the day when Marvin would ride his little Honda 50 over to Smokeys house [[who was a neighbor of ours back then) and mentioned the motorscooter, Marvin lll had no idea his dad used to putt around on a little scooter back in the 60's. Marvin lll seemed really surprised and informed me that he happened to be the top "black" motocross racer in California. He was really taken a bit aback that his dad liked riding 2 wheel vehicles as he did. It was actually a bit surreal to me at the time. Point being that Marvin lll is likely quite interested in his fathers legacy and interested in possibly supressing a negative image via biopic to perhaps hoping for a more positive image which could be demonstrated on focusing on Marvins entire career. I know that producer Cameron Crowe was working on his own Marvin Gaye biopic a few years ago and pulled out, apparently because he was having trouble securing licensing rights to Marvins music.

Cool. I can understand why he would be shocked by that because Marvin III was a baby when Marvin was riding around in motor scooters. I still love those images of a young Marvin looking mad cool in his motor bike and then there's that image of Marvin [[in a hoodie of some sort and glasses) riding his scooter through the Hitsville USA building in the late '60s) and of course the image of Marvin and Marvin III together on Marvin III's motorcycle back in the early '80s.

[soulster]

How do you guys find all of this drama with our favorite artists?

I still question the idea of just focusing on the last few years of his life. There were some mighty ugly things in there. It would be better to do a movie about his whole life. But, I wonder if the family would object to any movie about Marvin Gaye without it being a fluff piece, as his whole life was filled with tragedy.

[skooldem1]

I agree. Lets say they start with the 60's. In the 60's he was most likely using drugs and then you have the tragedy of Tammi's death. In the 70's he was a big time drug addict. Didn't he also file for bankruptcy? No matter what time frame they focus on, the truth of the matter is that Marvin's life was always a mess.

[midnightman]

They'd only object if it only showed one side of the story. Apparently there was a Marvin film in the works a few years ago that only focused on the dark side of his life and Marvin's family stopped it flat from happening. It's bound to be repeated.

[marv2]

His music and performances are what I remember most about Marvin Gaye, not his personal problems.

[soulster]

See, you can't make a movie about Marvin Gaye without the bad stuff. His life was filled with it. It seems like the only bright spot was the music.

[midnightman]

^ I bet his children would also say that he considered them to be a bright spot in his life too. Marvin was a complex and complicated man.

[skooldem1]

Isn't the "topic" of Marvin's children also scandalous?

[midnightman]

Isn't the "topic" of Marvin's children also scandalous?

No but it's questionable. Only thing confirmed about the birth of III for instance was Denise Gordy was the mother but it's only an allegation that Marvin participated in the Anna-sanctioned pregnancy [[by the way no one really proved Marvin was actually III's father, it's just alleged he was the biological dad but I'm on the fence with that since Marvin struggled sexually all his life though there's no doubt Nona and Frank are his, biologically, that's not disputed at all).

And the only things really scandalous about them is that III was a druggie for years and Nona has been in and out of rehab for drug problems. We don't know about Frank, he could be the one sober child of Marvin's but who knows?

[luke]

Lady Sings the Blues wasnt all that pretty.

[midnightman]

Lady Sings the Blues wasnt all that pretty.

It also wasn't accurate at all. And they only picked Diana for three reasons: one, she was musically talented [[she had impressed jazz musicians with her covers of Billie's stuff), two, Berry wanted to give Diana a serious dramatic role concerning a singer with a messed up life [[hence Billie Holiday) and three, she was black and also, four, they couldn't find actors then that looked like Billie and Billie was considered to be an old fogey so she was never brought up in normal discussions.

The film itself wasn't produced well though and the script made it a romantic drama than the actual real life mess that was of Billie's life.

[soulster]

Perhaps no movie will ever be made about Marvin until all the children have passed on or until someone writes a tell-all book with all the salacious stuff in it.

[midnightman]

Perhaps no movie will ever be made about Marvin until all the children have passed on or until someone writes a tell-all book with all the salacious stuff in it.

No tell-all will be released. The family has more control over how Marvin is portrayed than the public thinks. The film planning needs to die. Hell until Berry Gordy passes, you'd also won't get the full story so forget it.

[motony]

I think a TV movie could be made with all the great artistry of Marvin Gaye & some of the tragedy...a good drama with good acting BUT they have to have the real music for it to work.

[soulster]

No tell-all will be released. The family has more control over how Marvin is portrayed than the public thinks.
If the family has so much control, why does Marvin's son have to "beg" Kravitz not to do the movie?

[midnightman]

If the family has so much control, why does Marvin's son have to "beg" Kravitz not to do the movie?

They were friends. Lenny could've called and asked him about doing the role if that was true with what III said about them being friends.

[Jimi LaLumia]

Gordy still won't release the use of Motown songs for these bio pics, as Mary Wilson found out when her "Dreamgirl" book was a NY Times bestseller,so they have no choice but to use Gaye's post-Motown, Columbia Records material..Gordy still seems to have final say on everything...he must be pissed off that The Marvelettes got their name back, I'll bet..

[midnightman]

Gordy still won't release the use of Motown songs for these bio pics, as Mary Wilson found out when her "Dreamgirl" book was a NY Times bestseller,so they have no choice but to use Gaye's post-Motown, Columbia Records material..Gordy still seems to have final say on everything...he must be pissed off that The Marvelettes got their name back, I'll bet..

lol they ain't releasing anything until he's dead. I'm surprised at Sony. They ain't as thoro lol

[soulster]

Gordy still won't release the use of Motown songs for these bio pics, as Mary Wilson found out when her "Dreamgirl" book was a NY Times bestseller,so they have no choice but to use Gaye's post-Motown, Columbia Records material..Gordy still seems to have final say on everything...he must be pissed off that The Marvelettes got their name back, I'll bet..

Unless i'm mistaken, Universal owns the rights to these songs, not Berry Gordy.

[midnightman]

I remember reading somewhere that Cameron did get Universal's approval to use Marvin's music.

[soulster]

Correct. When you want to license Motown music, you deal with the owner of it, not Berry Gordy. The Gordy sold the company back in the late 80s, remember? When Universal wants to reissue Motown music, except for Stevie Wonder's music post 1971, they can pretty much do what they want, unless there is a copyright issue or something.

[smark21]

But doesn’t Berry Gordy still hold the publishing rights via Jobete? Doesn’t the publisher have a say so as well?

[Jimi LaLumia]

He has say on publishing and he's still controlling everything...
He's BERRY GORDY!!

[skooldem1]

EMI to Become Sole Owner of Jobete

AP, Mar 31, 2004 4:09 pm PST


British recording company EMI Group PLC has reached a deal to become the sole owner of Jobete, the Motown song catalog established by Berry Gordy Jr.
EMI's Music Publishing division, which already owned 80 percent of Jobete, will complete the estimated $80 million buyout of Gordy's remaining stake in the catalog within a few days, the company said Tuesday.
Jobete controls more than 15,000 songs from artists such as Stevie Wonder , Diana Ross & the Supremes, Marvin Gaye , the Temptations and the Jackson Five. Only the Beatles catalog, co-owned by Michael Jackson , is considered more valuable.
The deal gives EMI sole ownership of Jobete's music publishing rights. Motown Records parent Universal Music Group owns the rights to the original song recordings.
EMI Music Publishing assumed foreign administration of Jobete in 1982. It acquired a 50 percent stake in the catalog in 1997 for $132 million. Last April, EMI bought another 30 percent stake in the catalog for $109 million.
Gordy will remain involved in the creative development of several pending Jobete projects, including a musical and a television miniseries. EMI declined to comment on whether Gordy is under contract.

http://music.yahoo.com/marvin-gaye/news/emi-to-become-sole-owner-of-jobete--12174687

[marv2]

I think a TV movie could be made with all the great artistry of Marvin Gaye & some of the tragedy...a good drama with good acting BUT they have to have the real music for it to work.

Not trying to be funny [[I just don't know the answer, but...) do they still make TV movies?

[StuBass1]

It looks to me like Motown won't allow a negative film on Marvin...making it difficult if not impossible for any filmmaker to obtain licensing for the Motown songs, thus, there's a better chance that rights could more easily be obtained to Marvins non Motown material which did happen during the down and turbulent times in Marvins life, thus...the only project featuring Marvins music could only focus on the non Motown days. Makes sense.

[Jimi LaLumia]

that's what I'm talking about..
a Supremes pic would have to use the Broadway show tunes they used to do and cover tunes that were non Jobete,and would have to navigate around the hits..probably part of Gordy's deal with them, I'll bet anything it's in the contract somewhere..

[midnightman]

It looks to me like Motown won't allow a negative film on Marvin...making it difficult if not impossible for any filmmaker to obtain licensing for the Motown songs, thus, there's a better chance that rights could more easily be obtained to Marvins non Motown material which did happen during the down and turbulent times in Marvins life, thus...the only project featuring Marvins music could only focus on the non Motown days. Makes sense.

That's a real good point. I bet if there was someone who made a movie that documented Marvin's triumph with the What's Going On album, they'd probably allow it. But of course, there were some dark moments too [[Tammi's death, the fallout with Anna, the beginning of his addictions).