There are movies that have the whiff of "multiple Oscar nominee" before they even begin shooting -- and this is one of them. According to Variety, Forrest Whitaker is set to direct and star in "What a Wonderful World," a biopic of the legendary Louis Armstrong -- and he's doing it for Paris-based Legende, the production company behind last year's Oscar favorite, "La Vie en Rose."
Music fans know that Louis Armstrong was an enormous influence on not only jazz, but American music and culture as a whole. He rose from an impoverished childhood, where he worked odd jobs to keep his mother out of prostitution, to one of the most popular jazz musicians of all time. He even had a pretty successful movie career, usually playing himself. Given his impressive life, it's surprising that he didn't earn a big screen biopic before Ray Charles.
Whitaker's film also has an able resource in Oscar Cohen, who's the executive of the Armstrong estate, and the musician's former road manager. He's granting the film exclusive access to archive material of Armstrong's estate, as well as his own personal first-hand accounts. It's tough to beat the biopic that has the entire estate behind it. You might as well just hand it the Oscars right now.
What do you think, Armstrong fans? Are you excited to see the great musician get his due on the big screen? Do you think Whitaker is the man for the part? Sound off below.
Comments