Wed, Oct 11


Lionel Richie has set his sights on bringing the life of legendary musician Curtis Mayfield to the big screen.

Richie secured the rights for the forthcoming film from the Curtis Mayfield Estate and will produce the feature through his RichLion Productions company.

"It's an honor for me to bring the life of one of my idols and friend Curtis Mayfield to the screen!", Richie commented.

Mayfield first earned fame as part of the soul/R&B group The Impressions, writing their 1965 classic anthem, "People Get Ready."

He struck out on his own in 1970 as a solo artist and record producer, earning a reputation for creating socially conscious music that raised awareness of civil-rights issues in general, and the challenges faced by Black Americans in particular.

Mayfield also scored the 1972 blaxploitation film Superfly, which featured the hit singles "Freddie's Dead" and "Superfly," and the 1976 musical drama Sparkle.

He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame twice -- with The Impressions in 1991 and as a solo artist in 1999. MayField also was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995, and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2000.

In 1990, Mayfield was paralyzed from the neck down when he was struck by lighting equipment during a concert sound check.

He died nine years later at age 57 of complications from diabetes.

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As Curtis' 70's musical contemporary, Lionel presumably will treat the subject matter with respect. Curtis had one of the most fascinating, if not the most fascinating, career arcs in soul music history.

namepeace said:

LittleBLUECorvette said:

namepeace said:

As Curtis' 70's musical contemporary, Lionel presumably will treat the subject matter with respect. Curtis had one of the most fascinating, if not the most fascinating, career arcs in soul music history.

This is really a surprising choice IMO. You here bio pics being discusses for Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye because of their story. But what is Curtis story? Yeah he got paralyzed in 1990, 15+ years after his last Billboard Hot 100 showing. He is no doubt a major figure on the music world.

That's where the focus should be.

namepeace said:

LittleBLUECorvette said:

namepeace said:

That's where the focus should be.

I agree but is that gonna sale to a major company? Where is the sex, drugs, drama and violence at in this film?

Depends on how big the budget is going to be. A small-scale movie that's expertly produced can get picked up by a major company for distribution. It could be a TV movie, it could be a streaming service or premium channel movie, you just never know.

As for the "juice." maybe Curtis' life has more angles and challenges than we know. You never know what the angle will be.

SoulAlive said:

This could be interesting....if they do it right

I agree.

namepeace said:

LittleBLUECorvette said:

This is really a surprising choice IMO. You here bio pics being discusses for Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye because of their story.

I don't think a Sam Cooke movie can really be done, because the background of how he was killed is still a mystery. The official story doesn't make any sense to me, and then there's the comments that Etta James made. There's also rumors that it was a mob hit.

LittleBLUECorvette said:

namepeace said:

Depends on how big the budget is going to be. A small-scale movie that's expertly produced can get picked up by a major company for distribution. It could be a TV movie, it could be a streaming service or premium channel movie, you just never know.

As for the "juice." maybe Curtis' life has more angles and challenges than we know. You never know what the angle will be.

I could see this being a made for TV film like the Jacksons or Little Richard. Curtis was outspoken in his songs not the media. JB was outspoken in both. We know nothing of his personal life. Will it be a period piece like Miles Ahead or will it depict his like like Ray. The the beginnings of the Impressions, to Butler leaving to Curtis being a sideman ajd eventually getting the boys back together, ect to that tragic accident in 1990.

Apparently, someone finally wrote a bio on Curtis, Traveling Soul, that could serve as source material.

I think Gil Scott-Heron's life is rich with material for a biopic/series, particularly his last memoir.

MickyDolenz said:

LittleBLUECorvette said:

Mystery is what makes is a great biopic.

How is that? It's supposed to show you what happens, nobody knows what happened here. What mystery was there in the movies about the Jacksons, The Beatles, Ike & Tina, The Temptations, Elvis, New Edition, etc.? It's not Murder She Wrote or Columbo.

MickyDolenz said:

There's no mystery with David Ruffin, he overdosed. There's rumors about the death of Paul Williams and others like Jimi Hendrix, Bruce Lee, and blues singer Robert Johnson. Even with John Lennon in which Chapman is said to have been "programmed" by the CIA or something. DMC said once that he had a good idea of who shot Jam Master Jay, but never said who it was.

Hope this does him justice..so deserving of this and more!!!!

LittleBLUECorvette said:

namepeace said:

As Curtis' 70's musical contemporary, Lionel presumably will treat the subject matter with respect. Curtis had one of the most fascinating, if not the most fascinating, career arcs in soul music history.

This is really a surprising choice IMO. You here bio pics being discusses for Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye because of their story. But what is Curtis story? Yeah he got paralyzed in 1990, 15+ years after his last Billboard Hot 100 showing. He is no doubt a major figure on the music world.

Curtis choose to take a break from music and he had a string of sucessful soundtracks and his own record company and publishing. He was a success story in RnB music without the drugs or women chasing and deservers his due.

It is about time we got a positive story about someone from the Chicago projects who really pulled himself up with his talent.

MickyDolenz said:

There's no mystery with David Ruffin, he overdosed. There's rumors about the death of Paul Williams and others like Jimi Hendrix, Bruce Lee, and blues singer Robert Johnson. Even with John Lennon in which Chapman is said to have been "programmed" by the CIA or something. DMC said once that he had a good idea of who shot Jam Master Jay, but never said who it was.

Jam Master Jay borrowed money from a drug dealer to open his recording studio. He could not pay back the money and the belief is that the drug dealer had him killed. Unfortunatly, there is no proof so the police know who the guy is but unless someone steps forward the drug dealer will get away with it.

This type of stuff happens everyday.

laurarichardson said:

LittleBLUECorvette said:

laurarichardson said:

Curtis choose to take a break from music and he had a string of sucessful soundtracks and his own record company and publishing. He was a success story in RnB music without the drugs or women chasing and deservers his due.

It is about time we got a positive story about someone from the Chicago projects who really pulled himself up with his talent.

Curtis never took a break from music until he got paralyzed. 58-62 - 13 singles released 63 - 1 album 64 - 2 albums 65 - 2 albums 66 - 1 album 67 - 1 album 68 - 2 albums 69 - 2 albums 70 - 2 albums (1 Impressions and 1 solo) 71 - 2 albums 72 - 1 album 73 - 2 albums 74 - 3 albums 75 - 2 albums 76 - 2 albums 77 - 2 albums 78 - 1 album 79 - 1 album 80 - 2 albums 81 - no albums but a single released 82 - 1 album 83 - 1 album 85 - 1 album 88 - 2 albums 89 - no albums but a single released 90 - 1 album

Actually in a interview that I read he said he took some time out to spend more time with his family.

He may have put out music independently because he was no longer running a record label in the 80s with a roster of artist and I do not think he was touring.

We know independent artist have a hard time getting radio airplay.