Internationally celebrated trumpet player Terence Blanchard will score Talk To Me, the upcoming film based on the life of Ralph “Petey” Greene, the Washington, D.C. 1960s talk show host and community activist.
After a stint in prison, Greene (who will be portrayed by Don Cheadle) became a D.C. icon by championing those neglected in society on his television show Petey Greene’s Washington and radio talk show Rapping With Petey Greene.
As a longtime Spike Lee collaborator and film composer, Blanchard has scored or contributed to roughly 50 productions for film or television. He recently received two Grammy nominations for his latest album, Flow. Last year he provided the film score to two Lee features (does he still call them “joints?”): the crime-drama Inside Man (starring Denzel Washington and Clive Owen) and Lee’s HBO documentary on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts. Blanchard, a New Orleans native, had his childhood home destroyed in the storm.
In January, the trumpeter was a featured performer and panelist at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. A documentary following Blanchard and his band, Flow: Living in the Stream of Music, was nominated for Best Long Form Music Video at the Grammy Awards this year. The film will hit the festival circuit throughout the year.
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