Music biopic fans were dealt a serious blow yesterday when news broke that Sacha Baron Cohen had dropped out of a long-planned film about Freddie Mercury. Thankfully, they’ve still got something else to look forward to: All Is By My Side, a film that covers Jimi Hendrix’s early years (and, interestingly enough, doesn’t actually feature any of Hendrix’s famous songs).
Outkast’s André 3000 — a.k.a. André Benjamin — will play the Seattle-born guitar virtuoso as a struggling musician in London, shortly before the release of Are You Experienced, the album that would be his big break. The movie is set to debut at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival — and in anticipation of its release, TIFF has just released the first photo of André as Hendrix.
