Lauren Goodman ("A Last Goodbye") pens and directs the film set to begin filming in Hungary and Germany this May. "More than just being the voice of a generation, Marvin Gaye proved to be its very heartbeat," Goodman told the trade mag. "As a filmmaker, I was drawn to tell the story of a human being who was never fully realized, one with faults and foibles and an uncommon grace expressed every time he picked up the microphone."

The film will focus on the singer's final years from his self-imposed exile to Europe after struggling with drug problems and label disputes with Motown through to his 1984 death at the hands of his father. The concentration on his latter days is due, in part, to rights issues with his Motown-produced records, reported the mag.

Martin is known to theatre audiences for originating the role of Tom Collins in Rent — a part he recently reprised for the Christopher Columbus film version of the musical. A star of NBC's "Law & Order," Martin is also known for his television appearances on "Ally McBeal" and as the Ghost of Christmas Present in NBC's TV musical version of "A Christmas Carol." He can also be heard on the Sh-K-Boom Records releases Paul Scott Goodman's rock opera Bright Lights, Big City.