Forest Whitaker will star and direct a Louis Armstrong biopic,the first bigscreen project to be authorized by the legendary musicians estate.

The film is titled after Armstrong’s well known song “What a Wonderful World,” and Ron Bass, is slated to write the original script. Oscar Cohen, executive of the Armstrong estate and the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation will co-exec produce with Bass. Cohen, who began working for the musician in the late ’40s as his road manager, is granting the filmmakers exclusive access to his personal accounts as well as to letters and other material in the Armstrong archives.

The film, will kick off during the musician’s impoverished early years in New Orleans and primarily chronicle his career as a trumpet virtuoso and improvisational singer. Forest Whitaker who portrayed jazz great Charlie Parker in “Bird,” sums up Armstrongs career with:

“Armstrong left a monumental mark on our lives and our culture. He lived an amazing life and, through his art, shifted the way music was played and would be heard after him, not just here in the U.S. but all over the world.”

“What a Wonderful World” will begin shooting in the summer in Louisiana.

Source

http://www.hotmommagossip.com/2008/10/08/forest-whitaker-will-direct-and...