casting

Lenny Kravitz Is Set to Star in Marvin Gaye Biopic

US musician Lenny Kravitz performs on stage during the Ibiza123 Festival in Sant Antoni de Portmany on Ibiza Island on July 3, 2012.
Photo: JAIME REINA/AFP/Getty Images

Just call us “the grapevine†because you’re about to hear some Marvin Gaye–related news from us. When we spoke to Lenny Kravitz last week, he evaded a question about being cast to play Gaye in an upcoming biopic, saying, “There’ll be more to come, information-wise, very shortly.†He wasn’t lying (maybe we should call him “the grapevineâ€?), as Deadline has confirmed he’ll star in a film set in the eighties, when the soul legend was trying to restart his career and kick his addiction (a.k.a. the “Sexual Healing†era). The film will be directed by Julien Temple (Bullet, Absolute Beginners) and is set to shoot next year. Unlike in previous attempts to make a Gaye picture, Temple has already cleared the music rights. Which is a great thing or else we’d have to hear Kravitz sing “Ain’t No Fountain Dry Enough†and “Let’s Go Hit Shawn.â€

Lenny Kravitz Is Set to Play Marvin Gaye