Biopic
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...
Julia Garner Offered Role of Madonna in Upcoming Biopic
Ozark actress Julia Garner has been offered the role of Madonna in the upcoming biopic about the legendary pop singer, Variety reports. Garner was one of many prominent names to have auditioned for the coveted role. Other contenders included Florence Pugh, Euphoria actresses Alexa Demie, and singer Sky Ferreira. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the “grueling” audition process included intense dance sessions with Madonna’s own choreographer, as well as singing and reading sessions with Madonna herself. Advertisement Related Video Madonna is expected to direct the film, working off of a script she co-wrote with Diablo Cody and Erin Cressida Wilson. “I want to convey the incredible journey that life has taken me on as an artist, a musician, a dancer — a human being, trying to make he...
Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis Soundtrack Features Stevie Nicks, Tame Impala, Jack White, and More
If a soundtrack has both Elvis Presley’s and Baz Luhrmann’s names attached to it, chances are it’s gonna be good. Case in point: the OST to Luhrmann’s forthcoming biopic promises “original songs and recordings” by Stevie Nicks, Tame Impala, and Jack White, just to name a few. Elvis will also feature contributions from Eminem, Denzel Curry, Diplo, Jazmine Sullivan, Gary Clark Jr., Måneskin. Kacey Musgraves previously revealed she would be covering “Can’t Help Falling In Love” for the soundtrack, while Doja Cat’s “Hound Dog”-sampling “Vegas” serves as the project’s first single. Of course, much of the soundtrack will come from the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll himself, as well as the man playing him, Austin Butler (who we’ve already heard do his best impression in the trailer). We’ll also hear ...
