Ok, so you just read about Cameron Crowe’s rather secret Marvin Gaye biopic set up at Sony under the aegis of super producer Scott Rudin. You also know that’s been in the works for three and a half years and well, hasn’t really gone anywhere (yet, but here’s to hoping). But there is something new and of note in the Variety article about the difficulties of mounting rock biopics (we feel like the trade writes this article once a year — though honestly with good reason as the winds shift and these films take forever), and it’s amazing.
The tantalizing curio — one that practically makes us drool with wtf possibilities — is the fact the Crowe once attempted to mount a biopic of the now-incarcerated music producer Phil Spector after “Jerry Maguire” with Tom Cruise (!!!) playing the infamous gun-toting Wall of Sound music genius/madman.
Apparently at the time, Crowe felt “the third act had not been written” and he decided to pass on the script and move onto “Almost Famous” instead. Umm, holy shit. Someone entice him to get back onto this project asap, especially considering that Spector’s life became infinitely more interesting in April, 2009 when the producer was found guilty of using a firearm in the commission of a crime (he shot and killed former actress Lana Clarkson) and has been in prison ever since.
Spector is also obviously known for being one of the greatest producers alive, using stellar, touchstone artists like The Wrecking Crew and Jack Nitzsche to created the Wagner-ian, aforementioned orchestral Wall of Sound reverberation, that helped elevate bands like the Righteous Brothers, the Ronettes, The Crystals, Ike & Tina Turner, Darlene Love and many, many others into spectacular, for-the-ages pop grandeur (Spector produced two of the incontestably greatest songs of all time, The Crystals’ “And Then He Kissed Me” and The Ronettes, “Be My Baby” which are sonnets of contemporary music)
Spector is also famous for screwing up — or at least in Paul McCartney’s estimation — The Beatles Let It Be album, by layering it with schmaltzy and overwrought instrumentation that infuriated Macca (and was part of the reason he left the band), plus producing John Lennon’s Imagine (clearly he was ok with the retooling), George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass (him too), Leonard Cohen’s Death of a Ladies’ Man (which Cohen hates because he felt Spector also fucked it up) and the Ramones’ End of the Century. The producer was also notorious for pulling out handguns and waving them in the face of musicians who didn’t like what he was doing on their albums (the audacity!). Lastly, he’s also recognized for having an amazing array of wigs that he showcased in court from 2003 to 2009 (ahh memories).
Anyhow, umm, could you imagine? Tom Cruise as Phil Spector? Dear Movie Gods, please resurrect this project. Please, please, please? Cameron Crowe if you are listening (you are not, surely), please dig up that script and figure out that third act. Hell, we’ll help you out for free.
yes, this would be fantastic. I remember reading about it a few years ago. apparently Cruise is so good that in between takes on set Cameron Crowe would bug him to do "his Phil Spector" impression, which was supposedly incredible/dead on.
god !!that's an interesting idea!!!
I'm getting a bit fed up with Cameron Crowe. He is one of the geniuses of cinema, and it always linked with amazing projects but how often does he do them? Not nearly enough.