Andre 300 will play the lead in All Is By My Side, the story of Hendrix’s time working on classic album Are You Experienced? while living in England in 1966 and ’67.
The film is to be directed by Three Kings writer John Ridley, who also wrote the screenplay, and also deals with Hendrix’s breakthrough in 1966, when he was discovered in a New York club by Linda Keith, then girlfriend of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards.
There have been several attempts to make Hendrix-related films over the last few years, including a failed project by Bourne Ultimatum director Paul Greengrass.
The Hendrix estate blocked all of these, refusing to license the late musician’s songs.
It is not known yet whether this film has been granted use of the music.
The movie starts shooting at the end of this month, in Ireland, with Andre committed to filming for six weeks – although the Outkast man’s guitar skills are thought to be nowhere near Hendrix’s, as he admitted his biggest hit, Hey Ya!, was based on the only four chords he knew how to play in 2002.
“Everybody wants to do the movie,” Andre 3000 said. “But there are so many things that go into a biopic.
“It’s kinda like, until you are on set doing it you can’t say what’s going on.”
Andre’s previous film credits include his film/album concept Idlewild with his Outkast partner Big Boi as well as parts in Be Cool, Four Brothers and Semi-Pro.
