Jamie Foxx to Produce Luther Vandross Doc

Jamie Foxx is preparing to bring the extraordinary life and career of the late music legend Luther Vandross to the big screen. Foxx and British actor Colin Firth are co-producing the biopic, with acclaimed director of “John Lewis: Good Trouble”, Dawn Porter.

The upcoming film will be the inaugural narrative of Vandross’ journey. He had a string of eleven platinum albums and bagged eight Grammy wins in his carrer. The film’s brief describes that it “will track the iconic singer’s path as he became one of the most honored and influential pop artists of all times” and will “encapsulate the deeply private Grammy-winning artist’s fervor for music, international success, and personal challenges.”

Work on the as-yet-untitled movie has already kicked off, though no official release date has been announced. The news arrives a few months after the disclosure by director Patrik-Ian Polk of another project, a biopic based on Vandross’ sole biographical book, Luther: The Life and Longing of Luther Vandross, authored by seasoned music journalist Craig Seymour.

Vandross embarked on his entertainment career singing backup for a number of prominent artists like Chaka Khan, Diana Ross, Roberta Flack, among others. His first album, released in 1981, was highly praised and achieved platinum status. The singer battled with diabetes and hypertension and succumbed to a heart attack on July 1, 2005, at the age of 54.

Source: BET