logo

BB King’s band to play themselves in The Thrill Is On

The film depicts King’s friendship with its producer, Michael Zanetis.

BB King

Image: Michael Ochs Archives / Getty

When you purchase through affiliate links on Guitar.com, you may contribute to our site through commissions. Learn more.

Four former members of BB King’s band are to portray themselves in the upcoming film The Thrill Is On.

Speaking to Variety, the film’s producer Michael Zanetis revealed that Walter Riley King, James ‘Boogaloo’ Bolden, Michael Doster and Tony Coleman are to appear in the upcoming drama film. “We’re honoured to have these extraordinary musicians join us in our tribute to Mr King,” he said. “They travelled the world with him for decades and continue to keep his legacy alive.”

The Thrill Is On will star Wendell Pierce as King, who recently clarified that the film is not a biopic “in the traditional sense” – it is instead a drama about the late blues star’s friendship with the film’s producer Zanetis.

King’s estate also clarified the nature of The Thrill Is Gone, and made it clear that there is an official biopic in the work: “We want to be crystal clear that the film announced by Pierce is not a biopic,” said the chairman of the estate, Vassal Benford, before clarifying further: “there are several major players involved in the new BB King biopic and the estate does not want there to be any confusion as to the nature of each separate project.”

The Thrill Is On was first announced back in 2011, under the title BB King And I. Both Pierce and Zanetis have said that King gave them his blessing to make the film before his death in 2015.

At the time of writing, there is no confirmed release date for The Thrill Is On.

For more music news, click here.

Related Artists

Related Tags

logo

The world’s leading authority and resource for all things guitar.

© 2024 Guitar.com is part of NME Networks.