Miles Davis biopic starring Don Cheadle - "Miles Ahead"*

People whining about minutia like mic placement are the same people that go to art galleries and critique the brush strokes while standing so close to the painting they completely miss the point of the artwork itself.

 

The movie sounds like a potentially interesting idea, but based on what it appears Cheadle was looking to do, it seems like he could have done it about a newly-created, Davis-type character rather than calling it Miles Davis.

 

Actor directing self in biopic= trouble. See Pollack. Ed Harris was great playing the tortured painter and there were some tremendous actor "moments" but the story and plot suffered dramatically. Became a vehicle to show Harris' immersion in the role. Having a director reign in the actor (we're not talking Woody Allen playing himself here) is really important. This is not the kind of thing that's generally served well by the auteur route. We'll see.

 

Here's an article where Cheadle explains some of the artistic license he took with the film and why.

http://www.billboard.com/articles/n...ds-creative-liberties-miles-davis-miles-ahead

 

You're right, I'm a ****ing *******.

 

Well, to frame it more positively: you ought to be a f**king PITA to filmmakers who say they care about verisimilitude but cock up on details that some subject-matter geek might notice. And they will notice. So get it right!

 

The greatest films of all-time you can find continuity errors and anachronisms and other various mistakes. Doesn't mean they aren't great films, just means the people making the films are HUMAN.

I would love to see the internet nitpickers try to manage a film shoot and catch every single possible error. Would be entertaining to watch them fail.

 

You 30 ROCK fans will recognize this phrase...this is by way of my saying I'll watch anything with Cheadle in it.

 

I suspect they settled for the B+ set decorator since they believe this is expected to have limited appeal and therefore limited budget. I suspect that 80% of the world has no knowledge nor any interest in Miles Davis.

It costs money to research, locate and rent circa 1958 mics, mixing boards, tape decks, cars, clothes, etc.

 

This does look pretty freaking awful. I mean, you could've done this "anti-biopic" Shaft 2 thing with anyone. Why pick Miles?

 

Will it entertain for two hours? If so, that's all you need.

98.9% of the movie going public will have no idea even who he is or care so why go for the full on biopic. The 1.1% will know all that already.

 

All speculation aside. I have always been impressed with Don Cheadle's acting ability.
He is one of the rare actors who just becomes the character to the extent that I basically do not notice any "acting". He just is the character.
With that in mind, I will at the very least, give the movie a chance regardless of what the critics have to say.

 

From the review in The Hollywood Reporter:

"Don Cheadle deftly sidesteps the pedestrian potholes of the biographical drama in his debut as writer-director, Miles Ahead, also taking on the role of mercurial 20th century jazz innovator Miles Davis. "If you're gonna tell a story, man, come with some attitude," the reclusive protagonist instructs a bamboozling reporter on the trail of a comeback piece. "Don't be all corny with this ****." Cheadle honors that advice in a film that's loose often to the point of messiness. But its freeform riffs on highs and lows from the musician's life are a fine example of structure emulating the ever-evolving style of an artist defined by unrelenting experimentation."

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/don-cheadles-miles-davis-biopic-831212

 

Trailer:

 

Hmm...

What's all this about shooting off guns from moving cars and tapes being stolen? Did any of this ever really happen, or is this just going to be another Hollywood action film?

 

"Just call it historical fiction."
http://www.vulture.com/2015/10/don-cheadle-miles-ahead-miles-davis-anti-biopic.html

 

Well, at least they didn't make him a vampire hunter.

 

I didn't.

 

Miles Ahead... of the undead vampire posse.. coming to the cinema soon.

 

Miles by Miles ... great book

 

When's it being released?

 

IMDB says 01 April

 

It's not a biographical film. It's a fictional story featuring real-life characters.

 

You've probably seen it but here's the trailer anyway ......