Cheadle to play Miles Davis in long planned biopic

NEW YORK -- Don Cheadle will play Miles Davis in a biopic the actor has long planned on the innovative jazz pioneer.

BiFrost Pictures said Wednesday it will finance and produce "Kill the Trumpet Player," with Cheadle also making his directorial debut. Cheadle has been trying to make the film for years. Production is finally set to begin in June.

The production company said the movie will focus on when Davis temporarily retired from making music and then re-emerged in 1979. The script is written by Cheadle and Steven Baigelman.

Ewan McGregor will co-star as a Rolling Stone reporter, and Zoe Saldana will play Frances Davis, the trumpet player's former wife. Davis collaborator Herbie Hancock will be involved in the production.

Davis died in 1991 at age 65.