We’re Getting Closer To The Sam Cooke Biopic

Lee Hildebrand recounts how Sam Cooke took the worlds of pop and R&B by storm with “You Send Me” in 1957, topping both charts and crossing over to a then-unprecedented audience. Unfortunately, less than ten years after, Cooke was killed for unfortunate reasons; “A Change is Gonna Come” remains his seminal recording.

Now, almost fifty years after his murder, the stars are aligning for Cooke to finally get a biopic. Reuters reports that the screenplay for this film, based on Peter Guralnick’s Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke, was completed by Ian La Frenais and Dick Clement. What’s more, ABKCO, the record label that owns most of Cooke’s master recordings, is pitching in to help; Jody Klein, CEO of ABKCO, currently seeks a director for the film.

Here’s what Klein had to say about screenwriters La Frenais and Clement:

"We had been looking for a long time for a writer to develop Peter's book, and it clicked when we met them. They understood the artist, they understood the times. It's one of those things, like when you meet the love of your life and you know you have met your (future) wife. They have written a fantastic script.

All of the elements have aligned themselves. We have secured rights from the Cooke family. One of the benefits of being a private company is that it enables us the appropriate amount of time to develop the script and make this happen. It will not get lost."

It’s awesome to see that this important music artist will be getting his own biopic. Now, we wait to see who gets cast to play Sam Cooke. Any suggestions or guesses?

Written By Julian Stark of Movies and Other Things...