B.B. King Movie Has Found Its Lead Actor

B.B. King Movie Has Found Its Lead Actor | Society Of Rock Videos

via @WendellPierce/Twitter

A “Friendship Film”

On October 20, it was announced that Wendell Pierce will be the lead actor for an upcoming B.B. King film titled “The Thrill is On”. Pierce took to Twitter to express that he’s “honored” and “humbled” for the part given to him. He also added that he “promised BB King before he died, I will honor him and his creative genius. An American Icon.”

However, another B.B. King biopic is on the works and is currently headed to pre-production next year. This is according to the chairman of King’s estate Vassal Benford. This led to the confusion following Pierce’s announcement.

A few days later, Pierce shared another message: “The Estate of BB King has requested I clarify the film THE THRILL IS ON is not a biopic in the traditional sense. It is a dramatized version of a real-life friendship story in the spirit of the film ROUND MIDNIGHT. The friendship of 2 musicians, one being the King of the Blues.”

He then clarified that “nothing has changed”. The director for the said movie has not been announced yet.

According to King’s estate, there are two separate projects – “The Thrill is On” isn’t associated with them but Bedform clarified that they do not disapprove of it. He told Variety, “We want to be crystal clear that the film announced by Pierce is not a biopic, as there are several major players involved in the new B.B. King biopic and the estate does not want there to be any confusion as to the nature of each separate project. One is a docudrama, and the other is the official B.B. King biopic approved by corporate management of the B.B. King estate and trust as a part of B.B. King’s legacy initiative.”

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