We’ve heard about Andre 3000 of Outkast playing the role of rock and roll legend Jimi Hendrix on the big screen. The buzz has been growing for over a year with industry heads praising Andre’s portrayal in All Is By My Side. While others whisper about the Hendrix estate's holdup in refusing to allow the biopic's use of Jimi’s original music.
But news coming out of the Cannes Film Festival has added a twist to the scenario. Actor Anthony Mackie, recently seen in Captain America: The Winter Soldier as Falcon, is now being connected to another Jim Hendrix biopic titled The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Written and directed by Ol Parker, this new film comes despite clips from All Is By My Side circulating the world. Written and directed by Oscar winning screenwriter John Ridley (12 Years a Slave), the key difference between the Andre 3000 version of Hendrix’s life and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is that Mackie's movie has the full backing of the Hendrix estate.
Although Mackie's film has barely started its production cycle, the buzz-like beef between the two pictures has the industry wondering. And now some are searching for info on why the estate chose to back one film over the other.
Will having access to hits like “Foxy Lady” and a Marvel comic blockbuster actor like Mackie have an impending effect on the success of the film? Do fans care? Time will tell.
