The CIA, which allegedly backed the coup, is said to have had spies within Ellington's entourage, according to Variety.
The Jazz Ambassadors will be directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day). It was recently acquired by New Line Cinema.
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Morgan Freeman to Play Duke Ellington in Upcoming Film
Actor Morgan Freeman will play bandleader Duke Ellington in the upcoming film The Jazz Ambassadors, according to Variety.
The movie, which has a script by Jeremy Donner, tells the story of the Ellington band's 1963 State Department-sponsored tour of Iraq, which coincided with a coup by Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party.
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