Marvin Gaye’s Son Wants Lenny Kravitz Out of Dad’s Biopic
The ill will towards filmmakers mounting feature films about iconic artists continues. This time it revolves around soul superstar Marvin Gaye. TMZ is reporting that the singer’s son, Marvin Gaye III, does not want Lenny Kravitz to portray his father in the planned upcoming biopic.
Kravitz is scheduled to portray Gaye in the Julien Temple-directed film Sexual Healing. The movie will center on the legendary crooner’s latter years in the 1980s when he was besieged by drug addiction and depression. All this occurred shortly before Gaye was shot and killed by his own father, Marvin Pentz Gay, Sr., in 1984.
“The producers and directors of this film are very wrong and shameful,” Marvin’s son told TMZ. “They don’t even know the whole story.” Making matters worse, Gaye III says he went to school with Kravitz, the two are still friends and he’s a little upset that his buddy would be part of this project. “[I want to] talk to him about why he would do this,” he adds. “I would hope [Lenny] doesn’t have any idea that we are against this film being done.”
Marvin’s son says he and other Gaye family members are currently meeting with lawyers to try to halt production of the film. According to reports, filming of Sexual Healing will soon be underway in Belgium.
There’s no official word or comment yet from Kravitz.
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(Photos from left: Wikicommons,Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)