Jamie Foxx and Colin Firth Team Up to Make a Luther Vandross Documentary: 'One of Our GOATs'

Jamie Foxx and Colin Firth are getting together to make a music documentary.

On Tuesday, Sony Music Entertainment, Foxx's Foxxhole Productions and Firth's Raindog Films announced plans to produce what is described as "the first ever feature-length documentary on legendary singer Luther Vandross's life and illustrious career."

Production has already begun on on the doc, which will "follow the iconic artist as he charted his own course becoming one of the most decorated and influential pop artists of all time" and "capture the intensely private Grammy-winning artist's passion for music, global rise, and personal struggles." It'll feature Vandross's own personal archive.

Vandross died at age 54 in 2005 from complications dating back to a 2003 stroke. He won eight Grammy Awards and received 33 total nominations over the course of his decades-long career.

A New York City native, the singer-songwriter got his start performing backing vocals with Chaka Khan, Bette Midler, Diana Ross and David Bowie and writing commercial jingles in the 1970s. He later embarked on a solo career beginning with the 1981 album Never Too Much.

"Luther is one of our GOAT’s," Foxx, 55, said in a statement Tuesday. "He's one of the greatest singers in the history of music. It is truly an honor to be a part of the team to help bring this incredible story to the masses." 

The movie is directed by Dawn Porter, whose past work includes a 2020 film centered around the life of late U.S. congressman John Lewis, as well as films like The Way I See It and Bobby Kennedy for President.

"Like so many, I have always loved Luther’s music, but I had no idea of the breadth and scope of his artistry,” the director said in a statement. “I think people will be surprised at how much he accomplished in his tragically short life. It is a joy to be able to share his true story.”  

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Vandross released 13 platinum albums throughout his career. In the years after his death, a number of his friends claimed he lived as a closeted gay man, including Patti LaBelle, who said on Watch What Happens Live in 2017 that the musician "told me that he just didn't want to upset the world" by coming out.

"It was hard for him," she said at the time. "What a wonderful man."

The Hollywood Reporter reported in June that filmmaker Patrik-Ian Polk is separately working on a biopic centered around Vandross's life and career, based on author Craig Seymour's 2004 book Luther: The Life and Longing of Luther Vandross.