Wesley Snipes as Thelonious Monk?

[jazzbo]

from a 2004 interview with Monk's son:

T.S. says Monk Sr. was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1964, and was one of the first anywhere to take lithium. The pianist continued to perform, regardless. Of course, his mental state caused some unusual behavior. Monk would pace endlessly, and twirl, nonstop in airports. He’d sometimes drift off into never-never-land. But T. S. says he can’t recall his dad ever missing a gig, or giving a subpar performance because of the illness. (He also says his father retired, not because he was mentally incapable of playing — as is often reported — but because he had had prostate surgery, which made prolonged periods of sitting and playing extremely uncomfortable.)

“Around the age of 12, my mother started explaining my father’s illness to me, and I learned that I had to look after him just as much as he looked out for us,” T.S. says. “So me, my mother and sister were absolutely dedicated to him.”

And, T.S. adds, Monk was always dedicated to them. “He had this unique way of building our self-esteem. He believed in us. He was glad that we were a part of him. He used to tell us that all the time.”

Thanks for posting this!

[MoGrubb]

If Monk had a mental illness and/or used drugs it was kept pretty much a secret. I hope and suspect the incident culminating in his wandering the airport grounds was an isolated incident.

'Course, Horrywood's gotta make money....And, everything has to relate to today's crowd, the now generation. Jazz music isn't currently popular, but dope and "sensationalism" is. Personally I think Monk's music, the musicians and their interactions and families would be sensational enough for a flick.

Yeah, H'wood's gotta make money, which is why a Monk biopic is a serious longshot. Much as i love him, Monk's story is pretty uneventful by biopic standards. It has nothing to do with "sensationalism" in this case, but more the fact that nobody outside the classic jazz community knows who he is and he didn't do anything worthy of dramatizing his life story.

Not gonna happen...

Agreed. But, I never heard of Monk's battle with demons and drugs until recently because it wasn't broadcasted like e.g. Parker's. I honestly thought that he was just eccentric. I never paid any attention to those portions of musicians' lives anyhow and chose to always concentrate on their great music.

My point, sensationalism, is if Horrywood wanted to make money it'd have to play up the dope and mental illness angles, probably almost ignore his great music.

Edited August 14, 2007 by MoGrubb