The jury’s still out on whether director Martin Scorsese has lost his magic touch post-The Irishman, or whether the cinematic landscape has simply evolved beyond his style of filmmaking. Whatever the case, as he approaches the ripe age of 80, the Hollywood legend (clearly) isn’t considering retirement anytime soon. To the point another feature-length project under Apple’s banner has already been lined up post-Flowers of the Killer Moon. Reuniting with Jonah Hill for the first time since The Wolf of Wall Street, as multiple reports have indicated, Martin Scorsese now has his sights set on a biopic about the Grateful Dead.
Hill has signed on to portray the rock group’s frontman Jerry Garcia in addition to producing via his company Strong Baby alongside creative partner Matt Dines. Band members Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzmann will also executive produce with Eric Eisner, Bernie Cahill, and the late Garcia’s daughter, Trixie Garcia.
Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski will adapt the real-life events into a screenplay. The writing duo has most notably been credited with penning the Andy Kaufman biopic Man on the Moon starring Jim Carrey, as well as the sensational limited series American Crime Story: The People vs OJ Simpson. Which certainly bodes well for the overall success of this entire undertaking.
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As per Deadline, here’s a rough outline of what we can (reasonably) expect to be covered within the Martin Scorsese-directed Grateful Dead biopic starring Jonah Hill:
While it’s unknown what will be covered in the film, the story of the group goes back to its formation in the Bay Area amid the rise of the psychedelic counterculture of the 60s. They continued to record albums and tour, with Deadhead fans following them throughout the years all over the country for lengthy jam sessions. The good times came to an end when Garcia died in 1995, though surviving members have carried on in various incarnations.
The world of music has been a major – and slightly less publicised – passion of Scorsese’s for years now. In addition to his short-lived HBO drama series Vinyl, the man has been directing music documentaries since The Last Waltz in 1978. His name has been attached to everything from No Direction Home: Bob Dylan, Shine A Light (centred on the Rolling Stones), George Harrison: Living In The Material World, to the music video for Michael Jackson’s ‘Bad.’
We’ll keep you updated when something worthy of an update arises.
