Biopic
Daisy Edgar-Jones Cast as Carole King in Musical Biopic Beautiful
Daisy Edgar-Jones can soon cross off biopic on her acting bucket list, because Variety reports that the Normal People star has been cast as Carole King in Sony’s upcoming film adaptation of Beautiful, the jukebox stage musical about the early life and career of the legendary singer-songwriter. An on-screen version of Beautiful has been in the works for quite a while now, with Sony having purchased the rights to it over seven years ago. The stage show, which starred a Tony-winning Jessie Mueller as King, ran on Broadway for five years until it closed in October 2019. It played 60 previews and 2,418 regular performances. “Daisy has a spirit and energy that I recognized as myself when I was younger,” King said in a statement to Variety. “She’s a tremendous t...
G.G. Allin Biopic Set from Lords of Chaos Director Jonas Åkerlund
G.G. Allin, the combustible punk provocateur who shocked live audiences with defecation and self-mutilation before dying of a heroin overdose in 1993 at the age of 36, will be the subject of a new biopic from Lords of Chaos director Jonas Åkerlund. As The Hollywood Reporter notes, G.G. Allin: Live. Fast. Die. will tell the true story “of what happens to a borderline personality when the reach for fame exceeds the limits of talent… when substance abuse goes unchecked and mental illness undiagnosed and untreated… and when a fictional character takes over a real person’s life, driving GG beyond limits anyone could possibly endure.” The biopic will be produced by Don Murphy and Susan Monford of Angry Films and MVD Entertainment Group, with a script by Richard...
Ang Lee to Direct Son Mason Lee in Bruce Lee Biopic
They’re in a Lee-gue of their own: Ang Lee has cast his own son Mason Lee in an upcoming biopic of legendary martial artist and actor Bruce Lee. Ang Lee is both a master of fighting spectacles (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and a helmer of deep character studies (Brokeback Mountain), so he would seem to be uniquely suited to the task. As Variety reports, the film is produced by Sony and 3000 Pictures while Dan Futterman (Capote, Foxcatcher) is adapting the screenplay from earlier versions of a script by Jean Castelli, Alex Law and Mabel Cheung, and Wells Tower. “Accepted as neither fully American nor fully Chinese, Bruce Lee was a bridge between East and West who introduced Chinese Gung Fu to the world, a scientist of combat and an iconic performing artist who re...
Travis Scott Joins Isaac Yowman As Executive Producer For DJ Screw Biopic
HipHopWired Featured Video Travis Scott will join film director Isaac Yowman as an executive producer for a forthcoming biopic about the late DJ Screw. The film was first announced in 2020 and it appears traction has been made toward getting the film up on the big screen. Deadline exclusively reports that Texas rapper Travis Scott will become part of the executive producer group alongside Isaac Yowman for the biopic focused on a legend of Houston’s underground Hip-Hop scene. DJ Screw is responsible for the “chopped and screwed” sound of altered vocals and slowed-down beats chopped into parts and transforming songs into moody and hypnotic platters. Related Stories According to Michelle Wheeler, sister to DJ Screw, the family is happy that Cactus Jack joined forces with Yowman to bring her b...
Angelina Jolie to Star in Biopic About Opera Singer Maria Callas
Angelina Jolie will tell the tragic final days of the great opera singer Maria Callas in the new biopic, Maria. Via Variety, the film comes from Pablo Larraín, who recently directed Kristen Stewart to her first Oscar nomination as Princess Diana in Spencer. From the 1940s through her death in 1977 at the age of 53, Callas was one of the most famous opera singers in the world. But her once-unparalleled voice grew shaky in the later half of the 1950s, perhaps brought on by precipitous weight loss. In 1957, she left her career and her husband for Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, though he would end their relationship a decade later to marry Jaqueline Kennedy Onassis. She spent her final years isolated in Paris, France. Maria “tells the tumultuous, beautiful, ...
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard Court Drama Revived in Trailer for Hot Take: Watch
A full-length feature film centered on this summer’s closely-followed defamation case between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard has its first trailer. Hot Take: The Depp/Heard Trial is set to premiere on the free, ad-supported streaming platform Tubi (you know, home of the Gumbyverse) on September 30th. The trailer reveals the first look at Mark Hapka and Megan Davis as Depp and Heard, respectively, who recreate familiar moments from the court proceedings as well as past incidents between the couple that were shared during their individual testimonies. The clip also suggests that the retelling will include an angle about the influence of social media on the trial, with one cut-away showing a fictional influencer named @deppqueen$$$ telling her followers, “Girl just wants some attention...
Moonage Daydream Captures David Bowie’s Legacy and a Life Lived Magnificently: Review
The Pitch: The new David Bowie documentary, Moonage Daydream, succeeds not only for what it is, but what it isn’t. That has a lot to do with the clichés — and, occasionally, limitations — of the well-trodden format of the music documentary. We know bad ones — or just boilerplate ones — when we see them. They typically open in medias res; the subject mumbles something backstage through celluloid grain and a plume of smoke. Here come the talking heads: Jakob Dylan, Dave Grohl, Bono. The director takes us from the cradle to the grave — and you’re left a few bucks poorer, wondering if this is all music is, in the end. But never fear: Brett Morgen is at the wheel of Moonage Daydream, the new documentary plumbing the depths of Bowie. You may remember Morgen because he directed Kurt Cobain: Monta...
Milli Vanilli Come to the Big Screen In First Look at Biopic Girl You Know It’s True
The curious case of Milli Vanilli is getting the biopic treatment. Today, LEONINE Studios has revealed the first look at Girl You Know It’s True, the forthcoming film about the infamous R&B duo. To get the youths caught up: Milli Vanilli, aka German dancers Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus, were one of the most popular groups of the late ’80s and early ’90s — that is, until it was discovered that they had been lip-synching the entire time. Named after the duo’s debut album, Girl You Know It’s True stars newcomers Tijan Njie from Germany and Elan Ben Ali from France as Morvan and Pilatus, while Matthias Schweighöfer will star as Frank Farian, Milli Vanilli’s producer who encouraged them to lip-synch. Simon Verhoeven will direct Girl You Know It’s True from his ow...
Madonna Says Directing Biopic Was “Preemptive Strike”: “No One’s Going to Tell My Story But Me”
Madonna has further explained why she took the reins for her own biopic, which the pop icon will be both directing and co-writing. In a new interview with Variety, the singer gave an update on the film’s progress and offered insight into why she considered it “a preemptive strike.” “I have a very long script that is really hard for me to make shorter,” Madonna told the magazine. “I’ve been whittling away at it, but it’s like hacking off my limbs.” After hinting at pressure to make an “extraordinary” film due to her “extraordinary life,” the Material Girl alluded to “misogynistic men” who made similar attempts in the past. “It was also a preemptive strike because a lot of people were trying to make movies about me. Mostly misogynistic men,” she said. “So I put my foot in the door and said, ...
Amy Winehouse Biopic in the Works from Fifty Shades of Grey Director Sam Taylor-Johnson
Many have tried and many have failed to tell Amy Winehouse’s life story, but it looks like Fifty Shades of Grey director Sam Taylor-Johnson may be the first filmmaker to get a proper Winehouse biopic off the ground. According to Deadline, Taylor-Johnson is spearheading Back to Black, a new film about the late singer, for Studiocanal. The script to Back to Black was written by Matt Greenhalgh, while Alison Owen, Debra Hayward, and Tracey Seaward serve as producers. No star has been cast yet, but Deadline reports that Winehouse’s estate has given the project its blessing. Winehouse has inspired numerous projects since her tragic death in 2011. At one point, Swedish actress Noomi Rapace was set to portray the artist in a biopic, but it never came to fruition. Then, la...
Trevante Rhodes Pulls No Punches as Mike Tyson in Trailer for Hulu Series: Watch
Hulu has locked in a release date for Mike, the unauthorized limited series coming from the I, Tonya team about heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson. It’ll launch on August 25th, and the streamer has also shared a first look trailer in anticipation. The clip begins with a brief look at Tyson’s childhood before fast-forwarding to his meteoric rise and everything that came with his newfound fame and subsequent downfall, including his time in prison. We even get a glimpse at his infamous pet tiger. Moonlight star Trevante Rhodes plays Tyson in the eight-episode series, which was created and written by I, Tonya scribe Steven Rogers, who served as executive producer alongside showrunner Karin Gist (Our Kind of People). The cast is rounded out by Russell Hornsby, Harvey Keitel, Laura Harr...
Trevante Rhodes Pulls No Punches as Mike Tyson in Trailer for Hulu Series: Watch
Hulu has locked in a release date for Mike, the unauthorized limited series coming from the I, Tonya team about heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson. It’ll launch on August 25th, and the streamer has also shared a first look trailer in anticipation. The clip begins with a brief look at Tyson’s childhood before fast-forwarding to his meteoric rise and everything that came with his newfound fame and subsequent downfall, including his time in prison. We even get a glimpse at his infamous pet tiger. Moonlight star Trevante Rhodes plays Tyson in the eight-episode series, which was created and written by I, Tonya scribe Steven Rogers, who served as executive producer alongside showrunner Karin Gist (Our Kind of People). The cast is rounded out by Russell Hornsby, Harvey Keitel, Laura Harr...
