Louis Armstrong Biopic! Forest Whitaker Directs, Stars

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Louis Armstrong will soon be brought back to life, through the person and skill of Forest Whitaker.

Whitaker is set to direct and star in an Armstrong biopic-What a Wonderful World-bringing the story of the jazz legend to the screen. It will be produced by Legende, the Paris company that produced 2007’s La Vie en Rose, about the life of Edith Piaf. This was the film that won Marion Cotillard her Best Actress Oscar.

Speaking of which, the executive producer will be Oscar Cohen, who worked as road manager for Louis himself in the 40s. Ron Bass, the pen behind Entrapment and My Best Friend’s Wedding, will be the screenwriter.

Whitaker has also won Oscar gold

Whitaker has also won Oscar gold; in 2007 he was Best Actor, for his role as a Ugandan dictator in The Last King of Scotland. He’s also directed several films, including First Daughter, starring Katie Holmes and Michael Keaton, and Waiting to Exhale, starring Whitney Houston.

But this promises to be Whitaker’s most meaningful directorial job het. “Armstrong left a monumental mark on our lives and our culture,” he said. “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 US but all over the world.”