The word is out and my ears are ringing that there will be a film produced and directed by the legendary Martin Scorcese about the equally legendary crooner Frank Sinatra. Indeed this is a tall order, for the protagonist's singing career spanned decades, peppered by an awesome acting career which netted him an Academy Award for the film "From Here To Eternity" for the portrayal of the ill-fated Maggio.

All the stars in the sky in Hollywood are said to be in the running for the role of the man who could croon and make them swoon, but two are said to be leading the pack and they are Johnny Depp and Jake Gyllenhaal. The kicker is that some people have been omitted from consideration because they are perceived as being too old-albeit Johnny Depp is over 40 but looks young according to the pundits.

But a good performance is a good performance and the legendary film maker David O. Selznick had that age problem when he cast Leslie Howard as Ashley Wilkes in "Gone With The Wind". Mr. Howard was all of 46 years old-a hefty sum if we could call it that-and looked his age. How could a diamond in the rough be the love interest of young Scarlet O'Hara played by 23 year old Vivian Leigh.

David O. Selznick didn't let age stand in the way, the legend used special camera lens to remove the lines from the diamond's face and lightened his hair to give Leslie Howard a youthful, healthy glow. Why can't this be done in our digital age so we can give these perceived long in the tooth actors a shot?**

There is also word that some actors are suggesting that a Black man portray the crooner, or perhaps an all black cast as was done in the film and Broadway play "The Wiz", a black revue of "The Wizard Of Oz". After all Robert Downey Jr. donned blackface to play a black in the recent film "Tropical Thunder" so why not blacks donning whiteface to play a real white? Thus what we are looking for in the portrayal of Frank Sinatra is the essence of the man, for there is only one Sinatra and it can't really be duplicated.

In my opinion the late Heath Ledger would have been able to capture the essence of Frank Sinatra, for he had a way of making people forget they were at a movie as most character actors do; to me he was in the mode of Marlon Brando and Laurence Olivier. But alas because of his unfortunate death we'll never see the full range of his talents.

Johnny Depp has enough range to portray the crooner. His resume includes 21 Jump Street, Ed Woods, Donnie Brasco and even a singing stint in Sweeny Todd. When I look at his beginnings on 21 Jump Street as a sullen adult-I thought he was just another pretty face-I'm surprised at his depth. Whether or not Martin Scorcese cast him in the role is in the stars.

Jake Gyllenhaal is a good actor and he was excellent in "Brokeback Mountain-but he has to put six decades of age on him- if the picture goes that far- and make the public believe it. What about the singing? I believe that is going to be the hardest part of the making of the film. Will the voice be dubbed with Sinatra's real voice or will the actor sing?

The crooner's singing was one which was hummed on the wings of angels, twinkled the stars at night, introduced people to heaven and hell or whatever was on the agenda that night. My mother loved him along with Nat King Cole and as a child she had stacks of his record (LPs they called them back then). When I came home from school and opened the door his voice would slap me in the face, conjuring up feelings which the song would convey.

I'd follow the voice into the apartment and there'd be my mother stirring a drink of tea, misty eyed and mesmerized; she looked as if she had opened her eyes after saying a prayer. This was a religion, this was the church of Frank Sinatra; we all knew there was more to the man than his career.

He took risks publicly having black friends like Sammy Davis Jr. when it wasn't fashionable to do so in our society. He came back after his career was wiped out because his voice had changed, and he was a great philanthropist even when he didn't receive publicity for it.

Each generation has its own essence about Frank Sinatra, my mother's generation remembered him as the young crooner who had bobby soxers* running wild about his music with songs like My Funny Valentine, Angel Eyes, You Can't Take That Away From Me; my generation new his as the middle-aged gentlemen who belted out songs like Strangers In The Night, That's Life and My way along with a host of good movies.

Hence ths current generation must find their essence of Frank Sinatra and it may be commercially prudent to cast someone from their cohort group and Jake Gyllenhaal fits the bill; remember they younged up the new "Star Trek" so what's good for the goose is good for the gander. There is a beat to every generation and should be captured in this biographical film, but Martin Scorcese has his hands full.

*Bobby soxer is a 1940s sociologic coinage denoting the over zealous, usually teenage girls, fans of singer Frank Sinatra, the first singing teen idol; by the 1950s, fashionable ...

**David O. Selnick's Production Of Margaret Mitchell's Gone With The Wind Collector's  Edition