Here's our first look at Andre Benjamin as Jimi Hendrix in the unofficial biopic currently being filmed in Ireland. All Is By My Side is being helmed by writer/director John Ridley for Darko Entertainment.
As expected when we first reported this casting, Benjamin truly looks the part. The musician has quite the filmography under his belt now, and I haven't seen anyone too upset with him taking on the role of the legendary guitarist. The bigger factor to question is Ridley, who is in his feature directorial debut and has credits mostly in comedic television writing.
In the pics from the set, we also get a look at Captain America: The First Avenger star Hayley Atwell as Linda Keith, the woman who discovered Hendrix. Not seen here, but also cast is Imogen Poots (Fright Night).
Official Movie Description:
In “All Is By My Side,” there’s rock music. Then there's Jimi Hendrix. “All Is By My Side” captures the energy, the charisma, the mind-boggling talent of a legend whose musical influence still resonates around the world today. Based on actual interviews and archival materials, “All Is By My Side” brings authenticity and poignantly reveals a Jimi Hendrix behind the legend. At its heart a love story, “All Is By My Side” is about a man growing up, falling in love and becoming Jimi.
We also know from earlier reports that the story will focus on Hendrix's time in England between 1966 and 1967 when he worked on his debut album, Are You Experienced. Is it just me, or after Ray and Walk the Line, a lot more biopics seem to be steering away from tackling the entire lives of people. I'm kinda more on board with focusing on an event or certain time period of a person's life. When they try to cover EVERYTHING it tends to lose me after a while. There are exceptions of course. Which style of biopic do you prefer?
