Miles Davis - the life of... (proposed Hollywood film)

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

It has been announced that director George Tillman Jr, whose directing credits include Soul Food, Men Of Honor and the 2009 Biggie Smalls biopic Notorious, has been enlisted to handle the upcoming biopic of jazz icon Miles Davis.

Titled simply Miles Davis, the film is to be loosely based on the book Dark Magus: The Jekyll and Hyde Life of Miles Davis by Miles’ eldest son, Gregory Davis.

“Producers Nick Davis Raynes and Ged Dickersin have partnered with Gregory Davis, the jazz master’s eldest son, to bring the gifted trumpeter’s career-spanning story to the screen,” reports Deadline, also noting, “Miles Davis over the course of his long career continuously reinvented himself and evolved as a musician and a composer, conquering personal demons and heroin and cocaine addiction along the way.”

“In much the same way that Walk the Line and Ray were able to open the world’s eyes to the life stories of Johnny Cash and Ray Charles, we want to make a film that will do the same justice for Miles Davis,” (SIC) says producer Raynes."

GOD HELP US (AND MILES).

BN.

Jamie Cullen will play Red Garland.

[Serial_Apologist]

No Tories? Sorry - Notorious, I see, ahem...

[burning dog]

Dame Judi Dench to face the biggest challenge of her career playing Cannonball Adderley.

[Serial_Apologist]

Dame Judi Dench to face the biggest challenge of her career playing Cannonball Adderley.

To be billed as Oscar in the credits due to contractual problems

[charles t]

Nominating Rowan Atkinson's:

Bud Powell & I: A Parallel Journey In Flatted 5th's.

[burning dog]

Ainsley Harriott as Joe in "Free Cookin'"

[Pilchardman]

Dame Judi Dench to face the biggest challenge of her career playing Cannonball Adderley.

Meryl Streep is interested in the title role after her success with the Thatch...

[Ian Thumwood]

This film has been in the offing for years but nothing has ever come of it. I don't know about anyone else, but I feel biopic films are always a disappointment if you know something about the artist. I've not seen "Ray" but I understand it to be pretty hard hitting and it is generally considered to be a good film. When "Bird" came out 20-odd years ago, I very much liked that even if it was a bit slow , although quite brisk in comparison with Tavernier's "'Round midnight." Probably the best biopic of recent years is "la vie en rose" which was about Edith Piaf. The music was wretched and totally without redemption but Marion Cotillard's performance was absolutely mesmerising. Not knowing anything about Piaf beforehand, the film is shocking in it's depiction of the singer and it is very difficult to hsve any sympathy with the main character given the fact that she was such an ogre. Cotillard is a fantastic actress and this is just about the best thing I have ever seen her in. I was hooked by the story even if the music was unbearable in a way that only European pop is able to be.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vie-En-Rose-DVD/dp/B001E25MEW/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1321912297&sr=1-1

To be honest, a film about Miles would be boring. I don't think he was a particularly nice person and whilst the music he produced was amongst the finest jazz ever played, I can't see the film being that interesting.

As for best biopic, I would have to plump for the two-part "Mesrine" - another French film buit this time about Frances' No. 1 most weanted man whose life story was so extraordinary that the film underplays the number of crimes / jailbreaks be was involved in.

[Serial_Apologist]

So, it's not a biopsy then?

[Ian Thumwood]

SA

When Piaf died age 50-something, she had the body of a ninety year old. She effectively became a shrunken, evil old woman of the type you'd normally find in fairy stories.

If you've not seen the film, it is very good.

[old khayyam]

I think the age of the bio-pic is over. People no longer believe in what they are shown. We are too media-aware these days. We know how it works. Such as the way they cleaned up the Peter Cook story.

[Tenor Freak]

Don Cheadle had a Miles biopic "in development" for years. It was based on Miles' autobiography (which I've still not read). A pity he's been pipped to the post, really, as I thought Cheadle would do an excellent job.

I agree with Ian, though: Miles was an unspeakable xxxx. I don't think of him as a person when I hear his music, however, as if I did, I'd probably stop listening to it.

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

Bruce ~ "Miles was an unspeakable xxxx. I don't think of him as a person when I hear his music, however, as if I did, I'd probably stop listening to it."

How on earth do you know what Miles was like? You met him? Talked to his wife(s), parents, children, fellow musicians? And what possible business of yours is it what his personal life and relationships were? You OWNED him for the price of a CD or LP? AS Bob Brookmeyer said to me (and others) re. Chet Baker..."It's none of your f/kg business what he did or what he took or who with ...admire his music or not, that's all that should count".

I can think of a host of musicians I admire who were rumoured unpleasant, evil or worse. Who am I to judge, I didn't have their background, econ/social problems or a moralising foot on my neck by all knowing "fans". And the key word is "rumoured".

BN. sermon over.

BTW Coltrane said that "Miles can be a real prick sometimes" (for BBC balance).

[Ian Thumwood]

Bluesnik

I feel obliged to take Bruce's side in this discussion - even as far as his initial justified unedited remark. Having read Miles' autobiography it is pretty clear that we are dealing with a character here who is unlikely to enjoy even a modicum of Gary Speed-like of sentiment expressing what a good bloke he was. He may have created some the of the greatest jazz ever produced but even former sidemen like John Scofield were quick to admit that he could be a bit of a "pain in the ass." The story about Bob Brookmeyer can equally be dismissed as this is another musican in the world of jazz who is considered to be outspoken and prickly. Personally, I have to deal with unpleasant and awkward people for much of my professional life and they do make things a misery for everyone else. As you get older you realise that you tend to achieve more if you have a degree of social skills.

As far as the book is concerned, I was fascinated by it when it was first published and impressed that Davis was clearly a musician who admired fellow musicians like Gil Evans but who otherwise followed his own path in a fashion that was freqeuntly extremely unpleasant. He tolerated no views but his own. Re-reading it several years later my opinion changed totally and I cannot recommend it in any circumstance. In writing the book, he opened himself up for analysis and the truth is that there is very little musical insight in this volume, plenty of vitriol aimed at anyone who appeared to have ever crossed him and the sense that the most important thing for him was to be considered hip and relevant. His attitude towards women cannot be defended in any circumstances and whilst I grant that his family and closest musical colleagues would have a different opinionm, it is possible to like the music but not the man. The book does his reputation no favours and certainly does not make the reader understand his music any better.

There was a fantastic article earlier this year on the "All about jazz" website which quoted an incident at an airport where the composer John Cage bumped into Davis in the 1980's and the former thoroughly castigated him for his endeavours to be "hip." The essay then went to say that the irony was that with hindsight it is now possible to appreciate just how behind the curve Davis was in the decade and how divorced his music had become from the truly great jazz that others were developing in this decade. The incident demonstrated that Cage was someone who immediately recognised just how foolish the trumpeter was in later life and by all accounts his precise and acidic response immediately scythed the jazz musician down to size. Davis was a public figure and quicker than most to castigate and I totally disagree with Bluesnik's response. Even Davis' assistant with the autobiography later revised his perception of Miles Davis in a follow up book which only served to make Davis seem more isolated from relevance in his last decade. Other than "Aura" perhaps, nothing Davis produced post 1980 is on a par with the records Dave Douglas has put out since the mid 90's for example. Even this record owes it's appeal to Mikkelborg's writing more than Davis' soloing. The same applies to "Tutu" where the star of the proceedings is again the writing. Look at any movement with the exception of some of the early efforts of the 80's neo-cons and you wouldn't want to swap any of these records for the crap than Davis produced during his last decade. Granted there are a few moments on albums like "Decoy" but they don't compare with the great jazz that the likes of Paul Motian, John Scofield's quartet, Keith Jarrett, Brandford Marsalis, Adbullah Ibrahim, William Parker, Jason Moran, etc, etc have put out over the intervening years. Judged on his 1980's output, there is little "legendary" about Miles Davis' work.

Returning to the original topic of this thread, I think a biography of Davis would not make a great film. The same goes for most jazz musicians - we've had Clint Eastwood's "Bird" and coupled with the excllent Bertrand Tavernier's "'Round midnight" there isn't a great deal of room for much scope after these examples. Amazed that a composer like Gesualdo's life has never made it onto celluloid as that would make an excellent piece of drama. But another film about a jazz musician and his battle with drugs / drink / women / other races - who needs it? Other than the other examples music biopics are not great. Never seen "Ray" but I understand that to be pretty good and the film about Johnny Cash was on no interest. The film about Piaf has really set the benchmark and whilst much was made of her drug addiction, the film also vividly recreated her wretched up-bringing (unlike Miles' middle class background) and chronicled the life of an artist who became a wicked ogre.

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

IAN ~"As you get older you realise that you tend to achieve more if you have a degree of social skills."

Well, it's a bloody shame Miles didn't do a dip. course in communications or attend one of our major public schools IS IT NOT? !!!

What do we want from musicians? A reference from HR before they are allowed to be like "us"? An Jazz ASBO for the anti-social and junky afflicted?

Ray Charles (it is said, by Ray himself) tried to push T.Bone Walker down an open lift shaft after TB beat him at a poker session; Philly Joe Jones, after being given a helping office job at Keepnews at Riverside, then sold their hot off the press "hit" albums all around Harlem..."NO wonder I never got any fkg royalties!" - Canonball Addrerly: Sonny Clark was reduced to collecting/stealing beer botles to get enough for breakfast and support his habit: Kenny Dorham often pulled a knife on Horace Silver and threatened to beat the crap out of him (according to Blakey); Frank Morgan stole studio microphones; Art Pepper was an armed robber....and on and on...WHY, they should have been IMMEDIATELY EJECTED from the Jazz Fraternity! Call the cops, Alert the Daily Mail!GROW UP!

If you are looking for "nice people" (sic) Jazz is the last art form.
And then there's "The BLUES"...! (all that shooting and stabbing, worse than Hackney)

BN. (I blame the parents).