The Miles Davis biopic spearheaded by actor Don Cheadle has found its replacement for Zoe Saldana. Emayatzy Corinealdi, best known for her breakout role in Middle of Nowhere is in negotiations to play the jazz legend’s wife Frances Taylor in Miles Ahead reports Deadline.com. Saldana had to exit the project due to a “scheduling conflict ” that some reports are saying is a pregnancy.
Ewan McGregor is on board as Dave Brill, and Boardwalk Empire’s Michael Stuhlbarg is also in talks to join the cast.
The script, by Steve Baigelman and Cheadle, tracks a few dangerous days in Davis’ life as he emerged from a silent period to conspire with a Rolling Stone writer to steal back his music. As previously reported, Cheadle is looking to finance the indie film through crowdfunder Indiegogo.
He’s hoping to raise $325,000 through the site. So far, it has reached nearly half of its goal with a little more than two weeks to go.Corinealdi broke out at Sundance 2012 after director Ava DuVernay cast her as a woman coming to terms with her husband’s eight-year prison sentence in Middle Of Nowhere.
That drama earned acclaim and nabbed DuVernay Sundance’s top directing honors. DuVernay is now directing her high-profile follow-up, the MLK pic Selma with Middle Of Nowhere’s David Oyelowo starring as the civil rights leader. Meanwhile, Corinealdi’s Middle of Nowhere performance earned her Spirit Award and Image Award nominations as well as the Gotham Award for Breakthrough Performance.
She subsequently landed a role in Lionsgate drama Addicted with Sharon Leal, Tasha Smith, William Levy and Boris Kodjoe and appears in Amazon’s upcoming Marc Forster-directed pilot “Hand Of God.” Corinealdi is currently shooting Karyn Kusama’s The Invitation opposite Logan Marshall-Green and Tammy Blanchard.
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