The Oscar-nominated actor Matt Dillion is in final negotiations to play Leonard Chess, the legendary co-founder of the Chicago Blues label Chess Records, in the upcoming film Cadillac Records.

Writer/director Darnell Martin (Their Eyes Were Watching God) is shooting the project for Sony BMG Film,

Cadillac Records follows the rise and fall of Chess Records, which launched the careers of such greats as Muddy Waters, Etta James, and Chuck Berry. Chess, who co-founded the label with his brother Phil, was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

Filming is set to begin in January in New Jersey and Chicago.