Cheadle's Miles Davis movie exceeds crowdfunding target

Jazz lovers have shown so much support for Don Cheadle's film "Miles Ahead" that it has topped its crowdfunding campaign goal of $325,000.

"Miles Ahead" is a biopic on jazz legend Miles Davis, who died in 1991 at the age of 65.

With 11 hours to go on the six-week Indiegogo campaign, the project has already received $335,766 from 1,984 funders, reports variety.com.

"Most studios don't make these kinds of movies anymore, so we are doing it independently," Cheadle said.

"I'm personally putting a big chunk of money into our budget as well as putting all my fees back in. But the extra money we hope to raise on Indiegogo will help us recreate the multiple time periods we're dealing with and with the logistics of incorporating all the music."

"Miles Ahead" marks Cheadle's directorial debut. The picture was called "Kill the Trumpet Player" when it was being sold to international territories at the American Film Market last year.

The film is set in New York in 1979 when Davis was ending a five-year "silent period" and teaming with a Rolling Stone reporter - played by Ewan McGregor - to start a career revival.

Cheadle is starring and producing through his Crescendo Productions along with Bifrost's Daniel Wagner and Robert Ogden Barnum.

Also producing are Darryl Porter and Vince Wilburn on behalf of the Davis estate, Lenore Zerman and Pam Hirsch.

--Indo-Asian News service

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