Wait, another Louis Armstrong biopic on the way? You’ll recall that Charles S. Dutton and indie director John Sayles just announced they’d be doing a mini-series of the renowned American jazz trumpeter/singer for HBO.
Well, Academy Award winning actor Forest Whitaker is planning on doing his own, feature-film length version of Armstrong’s life called (naturally) “What a Wonderful World,” according to Variety.
The film is the first big-screen production of Armstrong’s life that’s been approved by the jazz man’s estate and Whitaker already has previous experience playing a jazz great, having portrayed Charlie Parker in the Clint Eastwood-directed “Bird” in 1998 (Whitaker won the Best Actors At Cannes that year, but was snubbed an Oscar nomination).
Whitaker can obviously act the shit out of a role and his Oscar for “King Of Scotland,” was long overdue, but his track record for directing is sketchy. “Waiting To Exhale,” was obviously successful, but none of his directorial efforts have left much of a stamp on us. Let’s hope he can change that with ‘Wonderful World.’
Rodrigo Perez is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Playlist, which he launched in 2008. He has worked in entertainment journalism since 2000, including at MTV, and has written for SPIN, IndieWire, Pitchfork, Complex, Magnet, and various music, film, and entertainment publications over the past two decades.
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