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Mos Def picks Chuck Berry Role for music biopic

Sun Mar 30, 2008 9:47pm EDT
Actor and musician Mos Def performs a song about New York by Gil Scott Heron during the Freedom Concert presented by the American Civil Liberties Union at Lincoln Center in New York, October 4, 2004. REUTERS/Henny Ray

By Leslie Simmons

Entertainment  |  Film  |  Music  |  People

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Rapper-actor Mos Def will play legendary rock 'n' roller Chuck Berry in "Cadillac Records," which is filming in New Jersey.

Also joining the cast is Gabrielle Union, who will play Geneva Wade, a girlfriend of Muddy Waters.

The Sony BMG film is set in 1950s Chicago and follows the turbulent lives of Chess Records co-founder Leonard Chess (Adrien Brody), and the label's artists, including Waters (Jeffrey Wright), Little Walter (Columbus Short), Howlin' Wolf (Eamonn Walker), Etta James (Beyonce Knowles) and Willie Dixon (Cedric the Entertainer).

Darnell Martin ("Their Eyes Were Watching God") is directing from his own script.

Mos Def was recently in theaters with Michel Gondry's comedy "Be Kind Rewind." Union's credits include ABC's "Ugly Betty" and the upcoming Eddie Murphy comedy "Meet Dave."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
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