Noah Media Group and Greenlight, part of Branded Entertainment Network, are delighted to announce an exciting new co-venture; MARVIN, WHAT’S GOING ON? The documentary feature film, based on the incredible life of the legendary soul artist, centers around Gaye’s pioneering fight to make an album that would transform popular culture and the record industry.
MARVIN, WHAT’S GOING ON? marks the first time that the Gaye children, along with his former-wife, have supported and contributed to such a project. The film, slated to go into production later this year, will be the defining portrait of this visionary artist and his impeccable album, What’s Going On.
Gabriel Clarke and Torquil Jones will co-direct, with their Noah Media Group partners John McKenna and Victoria Barrell producing, who together make up the team behind Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans. MARVIN, WHAT’S GOING ON? will be produced in conjunction with Greenlight, who wholly represent the personality rights and trademarks of Marvin Gaye.
Filmed on location in modern day Detroit, Los Angeles and Washington D.C., featuring exclusive interviews with Motown’s biggest stars and never-before-seen archive footage unearthed from Marvin’s children and former-wife, MARVIN, WHAT’S GOING ON? is the explosive story of the rise of one of history’s most gifted and complex artists.
For the first time ever on the cinema screen, the film will chart Gaye’s meteoric rise from the streets of Washington D.C. to becoming the worldwide Prince of Soul, told through the creation of his 1971 Magnum Opus – What’s Going On. Recorded at the height of Detroit’s Motown era, Gaye produced an album that broke free from the production lines of Motor City and challenged America and the world to self-reflect, going on to inspire a generation of artists and music lovers, which included the imprisoned Nelson Mandela.
Set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War and the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., the relevance of Gaye’s masterpiece What’s Going On is as strong as ever. With MARVIN, WHAT’S GOING ON? set to be released in 2017, Gaye’s incomparable art will once again confront a world divided by race and disillusioned by war.
Noah Media Group said of today’s announcement: “It is an honour to work with Nona, Marvin III, Frankie and Jay Gaye to tell such an important and timely story about an individual who used his unique musical gift to impact not only his generation but generations to follow.”
Lloyd Winston of Greenlight said of the project: “We are honored to have the opportunity to extend the legacy of Marvin Gaye through this film and to inspire a whole new audience with this story. Noah Media Group has a proven track record for exploring moments in history through fascinating characters and we look forward to taking this journey with them.”
In an extended statement, Gaye’s three children Nona, Marvin III and Frankie Gaye have also spoken about their involvement in the making of MARVIN, WHAT’S GOING ON? “We would like to express our excitement about the upcoming documentary feature film about our father and the creation of his amazing What’s Going On album. We are proud that his relevance remains intact and we look forward to being a part of this cinematic journey. Our father was complex, but we are confident that with Noah Media Group’s attention to detail and their dedication to the truth, the positive, inspirational and aspirational aspects of his life will be handled and shared with the world in a way never seen before. We look forward to participating and sharing what we can through friends, family, photos, footage and priceless stories that only those who knew our father up close and personal would know, as well as his contemporaries, purists and fans who have studied him and his art over decades.
‘What’s Going On’…something many of us find ourselves asking today, 45 years later. Peace”