The Miles Davis Movie: Omission from ‘most anticipated poll’ further proof biopic won’t hit theatres in ‘09

There was a survey from MovieTickets.com released last week (thx: DHD) conducted between August 8th and October 5th of nearly 4,000 movie fans who chimed in with their picks for the “most anticipated” films over the next 12 months.

The MovieTickets.com Top-10 Most Anticipated Films

1. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Warner Bros)
2. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Fox)
3. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Paramount)
4. Public Enemies (Universal)
5. Angels & Demons (Sony)
6. Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian (Fox)
7. The Informant (Warner Bros)
8. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (Fox)
9. The Day the Earth Stood Still (Fox)
10. The Taking of Pelham 123 (Sony)

Yep, no Miles Davis movie. I’ll go ahead and submit that even if the Miles Davis biopic were slated for a 2009 release that it still would not make the top ten of this particular survey from MovieTickets.com.

George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Seth Rogen and Halle Berry would each have to be added to the cast in order for the Miles Davis biopic to knock any of those ‘big’ movies listed above out of the way.

I do foresee some hype and anticipation when more production and casting information hits the news cycle, but for now most Blog-reading, Hollywood industry-interested movie fans (and fans of Miles Davis) only know that Don Cheadle is set to star and direct in the Miles Davis biopic. And that news was revealed as far back as December of ‘06, so clearly the project has been simmering for quite awhile — and that’s just this, the most current, of the Miles Davis projects to have endeavored to put the life of the jazz legend on the big screen.

There’s definitely intrigue surrounding the movie because a) it’s a project that’s bounced around for years unable to close the deal, b) the idea of a biopic about Miles Davis continues to interest movie and music fans and c) Don Cheadle onboard gives the movie prime legitimacy as a film that can finally get made.

Unfortunately news of Don Cheadle taking Terrance Howard’s role for the next “Iron Man” movie (not unfortunate for Cheadle) casts a drop of gloom over the Miles Davis project and highlights the question (again) of just how long it’s going to take for the biopic to transition from development to actual production.

It’s Hollywood. Stuff happens.

The Miles Davis biopic is definitely not an event picture, it’s not going to overheat the hype machine (on the ‘net) like “Watchmen,” for example, but depending on components like – and perhaps most importantly – budget and studio (unless it goes it alone and looks for a distributor), the movie could exist somewhere between indie-flick and Hollywood blockbuster.

Whatever that means. I always defer to “Ray” as my paradigm, but “Ray” feels like a Hollywood movie. So what movie sits between big and small?

Whatever it is, the Miles Davis movie could fit the bill and in doing so generate its share of hype from fans and critics, which I think will be there when (I won’t say ‘if’) the film ramps up and it finally looks like we’ll get to see the life of Miles Davis on the big screen.

Finally.