Pitch of the Day: 'We Are the World: An All-Star Portrayal'

A whole bunch of music artists gathered today to record a new version of "We Are the World," the iconic charity single from 1985 that featured a who's who of singing stars from the '80s, including Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder and, most memorably for me, Cyndi Lauper. The song's co-writer Lionel Richie, who penned the tune with Michael Jackson, had already planned a 25th anniversary redo with producer Quincy Jones, but now the resultant cover will also be a charity single benefiting Haiti.

But today's pitch isn't for a film about the new recording, which will feature Lady Gaga, Bono, John Legend, Usher and others. It's for a dramatic feature based upon the making of the original song under the collective name USA for Africa, to be titled...

We Are the World: An All-Star Portrayal

We love watching celebrities portray famous singers and musicians. Just today we heard that Zachary Quinto may be playing George Gershwin. It may not be as exciting as the idea of Joaquin Phoenix doing Johnny Cash or a whole slew of actors portraying Bob Dylan, but it's a whole lot more accessible than having a nobody in the role -- would Last Days have been a bigger hit with Leonardo DiCaprio rather than Michael Pitt? Of course.

Now, imagine a movie like Walk the Line or Ray times 40, as every one of the famous artists involved in USA for Africa are cast with a different famous actor or actress. For some of these, we could retain the celebs who've played them in the past. Jamie Foxx returns as Ray Charles. Angela Bassett returns as Tina Turner. Cate Blanchett returns as Dylan, this time aged.

Nobody should be allowed to play themselves, no matter how good they may look 25 years later, save for maybe Huey Lewis (because he's the man). So, I ask you to help in the casting. Who could/should portray the icons involved with the song, which you can watch in the historical video below (or see a list here)?