Marvin Gaye biopic rumour rife as Lenny Kravitz is ruled out

There have been so many announcements, rumours and innuendos about the Marvin Gaye biopic that it's hard to tell who is in and who is out.

Today, Deadline Hollywood reported that Lenny Kravitz is no longer cast in as Gaye in the film Sexual Healing. He was announced as the lead in late November and, shortly thereafter, Gaye's son Marvin Gaye III came out criticizing the choice and the project as a whole, saying "The producers and directors of this film are very wrong and shameful ... [They're] trying to do a film about a low period in his life. They don't even know the whole story."

Replacing Kravitz is the man who was originally up for the role when it was conceived, Jesse L. Martin. Martin left his role on TV's Law and Order to take on the Gaye project but it soon changed producers and the plans fell apart. Since then, Martin has taken on a number of lower-profile roles and is in the current season of the NBC series Smash. Martin does have a music background, having been one of the original cast members of the Broadway musical Rent along with starring in the movie version.

The film once again has new producers with Vassal Benford and Fred Bestall and the film will be directed by Julien Temple (The Great Rock and Roll Swindle, Absolute Beginners, Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten).

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