A new Jeff Buckley film biopic is in the works, using David Brown's biography 'Dream Brother: The Lives And Music Of Jeff and Tim Buckley' as source material.
The book has been optioned for the film, which will be directed by 'Welcome To The Rileys' director Jake Scott, and will see Brown act as a consultant on the project. Scott himself has previously directed a number of pop music documentaries including 'The Best of R.E.M.: In View 1988-2003' and ' U2: The Best of 1990-2000'.
Deadline reports that Buckley's mother Mary Guibert is on board with the project, and is acting as executive producer. Meanwhile, the screenplay is being written by Ryan Jaffe, who previously wrote the story for the Rainn Wilson starring comedy 'The Rocker'.
A leading man has yet to be chosen to play the singer-songwriter, who died tragically by drowning in 1997, but Robert Pattinson, James Franco and James Marsden are among the names being bandied. Pattinson has already expressed an interest in the role, while Franco has undoubtedly got the right look as well as the talent to do a fantastic job. That said, Marsden is eminently likeable and it would be wonderful to see him take on a more challenging role than his usual comedies.
The as yet untitled biopic is expected to go into production by the end of 2011.
