gone too soon..10 years..
I've been listening to Grace nearly all day today....you're so missed Jeff.
what a sad milestone
gone too soon..10 years..
I've been listening to Grace nearly all day today....you're so missed Jeff.
Penn Badgley Set to Play Jeff Buckley in 'Greetings from Tim Buckley'
His star has been rising lately with praiseworthy turns in Easy A and a supporting role in the ensemble financial drama Margin Call (which we enjoyed quite a bit at Sundance in January), but now Penn Badgley (right) has snagged a role that should really allow him to show his talent. Smuggler Films has announced the actor will play musician Jeff Buckley, son of iconic musician Tim Buckley in Greetings from Tim Buckley. Dan Algrant (People I Know) will direct the film telling the true story of the days leading up to Jeff Buckley’s eminent 1991 performance at his father’s tribute concert in St. Ann’s Church.
Through a romance with a young woman working at the concert, the younger Buckley comes to understand the father who abandoned him. The musician's cathartic performance of his father’s most famous songs, results in a stunning performance which launches his career as one of the greatest young musicians of his time. Badgley is excited about the prospect of playing such an iconic musician saying, "To play a man who was singularly gifted as an artist, greatly misunderstood and mythologized as a human being. It’s something very special and sacred. I’m going to give all I can to this project.”
Of course, another big star of the film will be the music from the two musicians. While another gestating film from Jake Scott (director of Welcome to the Rileys and son of Ridley Scott) has been said to secure much of the music rights for their film looking at Buckley's life and career, producers say they have plenty of music to make their film rich with Buckley's signature tunes. 24 Frames says rights have been secured for many of Tim Buckley's songs as well as Jeff Buckley's cover of Hallelujah, one of his most iconic songs. The question is whether or not Badgley can do his own singing. Word on the street is that Robert Pattinson might be up to play Jeff Buckley in Scott's biopic, and believe or not the guy can actually sing. I guess we'll have to wait and see how it goes.
source: firstshowing.net


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. Here is the interview with one of the producers:"Penn is not involved in the film at all," Williams said in a phone interview. "It's crazy how these stories get out." When asked about Pattinson's involvement with the film, Williams said that although he's a fan of the British actor, he'd only had preliminary meetings with Pattinson, who was interested in auditioning for the film project, now almost six years in the making. Williams, along with producer Michelle Sy, casting director Billy Hopkins and executive producer Mary Guibert, Buckley's mother, are still seeking out actors for the casting process, which will likely begin in October, Williams said.
Most likely, the film will star an unknown actor who can portray Buckley without the weight of any preconceived Hollywood expectations, added Williams, who helped cast Sam Riley in the lead role of Ian Curtis in the 2007 biopic "Control" about the Joy Division front man. Williams said he's hoping to follow the same standards of finding someone with a low profile who can deliver Buckley's intense personality and haunting falsetto. "[The producers] are all very unified in our search to find the perfect person to play Jeff," Williams said.
Currently, the film is set to shoot in New York and Tennessee, where the story largely takes place. Though he rebuts rumors regarding the part of Buckley, Williams said that all kinds of actors and musicians have expressed interest in auditioning.
"When you have a story about an individual like Jeff you get a lot of interest because his life was so impactful and so short," Williams said.
Buckley was 30 when he drowned in May 1997 after deciding to go swimming in Wolf River Harbor, a slack water channel of the Mississippi River. News of a film about his life circulated as early as 2006, two years before Williams came to the project. Williams said that though the film has had a long gestation period, many measures have been taken to make sure that the foundation and intentions are authentic.
"We’re being very careful about it as we move forward," Williams said. “It takes a while to perfect this type of film. You’ve got to do it for the right reasons.”
But if it is that unavoidable now, at least get an actor who can do him justice, without his celebrity overshadow what the film is about.