It looks like there are a couple of films in development that will focus on the life of Sammy Davis, Jr. Denzel Washington is expected to direct a biopic based on In Black and White: The Life of Sammy Davis Jr., by Wil Haygood.
The other film in early development, Sammy and Kim, is based on Davis’s romance with Ms. Novak in the 1950s that threatened to derail both their careers. It was such a scandal that Harry Cohn, the president of Columbia Pictures, to which Ms. Novak was under contract, ordered the relationship ended. Earle Sebastian, a director of videos for artists including Madonna and Tori Amos, is teamed with the music industry entrepreneur Damon Dash for the film
“It was a reminder of what the risks were,” said Sam Kashner, who detailed the relationship for Vanity Fair and is working with his wife, Nancy Schoenberger, on the screenplay. André 3000 (also known as André Benjamin), whose film credits include Idlewild and Be Cool, is expected to play Davis, and Mr. Sebastian plans to direct.
Which film will be made first remains to be seen. But this is just one biopic that Andre 3000 is lined up to star in. The other a film about the life of Jimi Hendrix, that continues to be tied up in development.
