Jeff Buckley biopic loses Robert Pattinson? A tale of lies, lies, and one truth

Jeff Buckley biopic loses Robert Pattinson? A tale of lies, lies, and one truth

A reader emailed us and asked why were weren't covering this story. Ok. We'll cover it now that we have information from a credible news source about what's REALLY going on.

Yesterday, the slayers of truth, Hollywood Life spewed this:

Poor Robert Pattinson! The actor was working hard to score the role of Jeff Buckley, the famous musician who died young at age 30, in a biopic movie about his life. Gossip Girl star Penn Badgley snagged the part instead, a source exclusively tells HollywoodLife.com. “Robert Pattinson is devastated he’s lost out on the one role he really wanted,” says our insider. “It was down to Rob, James Franco and Penn for the part, and Rob was really pushing himself to get it.”

Our source continues, “Rob hasn’t heard ‘no’ a lot lately, so he’s really bummed. He was passionate about this project.” Things were looking good for Rob, who was reportedly “obsessed” with landing the lead. Jeff Buckley’s mother and executive producer of the movie Mary Guibert, 62, even weighed in, saying “Robert is a fine young actor. I’m flattered he’s been linked to this project. When the time comes we’ll give everybody an opportunity to be seen and heard.” Producer Michelle Sy confirmed Rob was “keen” on the part as well, and also revealed they are looking for someone who can “play music and sing”.

Although Rob is disappointed he didn’t get the role, Penn is over the moon. “Penn is thrilled to get this role and thinks it’s the film of a lifetime,” our insider confesses. “He’s been trying to push out of the ‘Gossip Girl’ image and knows this film will be the perfect opportunity to do so.” Congrats Penn!

Jake Scott is set to direct and Ryan Jaffe is writing the script for the highly anticipated movie.

My eyes rolled so hard, I'm STILL trying to get them to focus straight ahead. We went all day yesterday and into today with no confirmation from a credible source. E!'s resident truth slayer, Ted, reported on the nonsense today. Same garbage as above. Painting the picture of a "poor Robert Pattinson".

Well well well...Los Angeles Times swooped in and crashed this spin cycle:

New rumors swirling around the long-awaited Jeff Buckley biopic have falsely pitted actor Penn Badgley as the lead in the film about the late singer-songwriter. According to the film's co-producer, Orian Williams, the gossip surrounding the "Gossip Girl" star is compounded on further inaccuracies that "Twilight" heartthrob Robert Pattinson had been considered a shoe-in for the role of the enigmatic singer-songwriter.

"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.”

So there we have it. We do not know if Rob feels this is the role of a lifetime so I resent the media painting it as Rob chasing this role down and losing. Please. He has briefly mentioned it before, most recently in this interivew with USA Today during WFE promo.



There we go. Rob's words. No assumptions about his feelings needed. I know I wanted Rob in a role like this because I want his music. HIS music. But all in due time. We'll support whatever Rob's next project is and bitchface anyone that claims he's losing anything. More like, a film loses if they don't get Robert Pattinson.

Source: LA Times | HL (not linking back and giving them one more hit to their garbage)
Via: @SkylarLSpencer | @Victoria1985
YouTube: Source

Robert Pattinson takes an interest in playing Jeff Buckley?

UPDATE: Looks like a no. The Playlist speaks to the producer:

Making the rounds recently was a report from UK paper The Daily Express that Robert Pattinson was going to play the late singer Jeff Buckley in an upcoming biopic. The quotes originated from an unknown Hollywood insider and worse, this rumor isn’t even new—it first popped up back in 2009. We reached out to one of the producers on the gestating film who told us “I did see [the U.K. report], it’s pretty funny.” So sorry, RPatz lovers, he won’t be crooning “Hallelujah” on your prom night anytime soon.

Click HERE to read the rest

VOTE: Franco vs. Pattinson for Buckley Role

From ExtraTV.com:

Two of the hottest men in Hollywood are going head-to-head to play musician Jeff Buckley in the biopic.

BlackBook reports "New Moon's" ferocious lover Robert Pattinson and "Milk" star turned Columbia grad student James Franco are both vying for the Buckley role.

Buckley, the son of singer Tim Buckley, gained popularity in the early '90s and died tragically in a 1997 accidental drowning in Memphis at age 30.

Gozde: You can vote HERE but you know, it's not really fair to put it up on an online vote. Rob will win with a landslide. Just check out the Vanity Fair vote on Most Handsome Man in the World. Rob is leading with %59. I mean the boy is beautiful but not THAT beautiful :) Brad Pitt has %12, Johnny Depp %9, I rest my case...

Thanks to Janice for the tip :)

Robert Pattinson as Jeff Buckley?

From exclaim.ca:

Jeff Buckley Biopic Back on Track for 2010 Release, Possible Leads Include Jared Leto, James Franco and Robert Pattinson
6/4/2009 By Brock Thiessen

As Jeff Buckley fanatics likely already know, a biopic on the late singer-songwriter has been brewing for years. Several attempts have been made — one even by Brad Pitt — but so far Buckley’s mother Mary Guibert has put the kibosh on bringing the Buckley tale to the big screen. (To read a detailed history on the failed biopic check out The Playlist’s post about it here.) However, via a report from the Australian press, it appears the film is back on track and could be out as early as 2010.

According to the report, Orian Williams, who produced the biopic Control, about Joy Division’s Ian Curtis, is onboard for the Buckley film, titled Mystery White Boy, as is screenwriter Ryan Jaffe (The Rocker). The real juice here is that the list of possible actors that may play Buckley, which includes names like Jared Leto, James Franco, Robert Pattinson and James Marsden.

"Whoever gets the part will need a lot of self-discipline because they won't be able to fake it," Guibert said in interview. "It's going to take a phenomenal set of skills."

Guibert also added that she has finally come to terms with the idea of there actually being a biopic done on her late son, saying, "I have finally relented against my deep conviction that films about people should never be made until those people are long dead."

And while all indications now seem to show that the biopic is back on course, the script is apparently nowhere near complete, and the film is still in the very early stages, making that possible 2010 release look pretty tentative.

Video set to Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah (it's not Rob singing :))