Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Cadillac Records: A movie about the blues.

My sense of anticipation is growing as I read more and more about the upcoming movie "Cadillac Records." As best I can determine, from the references listed below, it is a movie about the life and times of Leonard Chess.

If the talent assembled is any indication, there is the potential for this to be a great movie.

The film stars actors Adrien Brody as Chess, Cedric the Entertainer as Willie Dixon, Mos Def as Chuck Berry, Columbus Short as Little Walter and Jeffrey Wright as Muddy Waters. Set as co-executive producer, Beyoncé Knowles will play as Etta James (really!) and the movie will be directed by Darnell Martin.

The period piece follows the rise and fall of Chess Records, which launched the careers of such R&B greats as Muddy Waters, Etta James and Chuck Berry. Chess, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, scoured the South, checking out the various blues scenes and selling records from the back of his Cadillac.
The thing that is difficult for me to understand is how they are going to fit all these blues greats into one movie. I really hope they pull it off.

References;

Matt Dillon to Play Leonard Chess At first it seems that Matt Dillon was going to play the part of Leonard Chess.

'Cadillac Records,' Starring Beyonce, Isn't Like 'Walk The Line,' Columbus Short Insists

Cadillac Records @ Wikipedia

Cadillac Records @ IMDB

CADILLAC RECORDS casting news

There is also info out there suggesting another Chess movie in the works. I will have to do more research on this one.

Nivola Just A Pawn In Chess War

Other blues movies @ SqueezeMyLemon.

Black Snake Moan


2 comments:

prin said...

I'm so glad you posted this and I can't wait either...sounds like a great cast. I have been trying to find research on the chess story for months now because I wanted to do a piece on it, Leonard Chess in particular, but what's out there in cyberspace is very little or at least what I found was pitiful. Dang, hows that for a run-on sentence :)

fitzgerald said...

prin, as always, you are welcome. Gald to read that you are waiting for this one too. I'll be interested in reading your review. And as for run-on sentences, I often write things that resemble sentences, only to realize later that I have not written a sentence at all, LOL. You know that whole "it needs a subject and a verb" rule.