It’s the 40th Anniversary of Woodstock this year, so it would seem to be a good time to start thinking about a biopic of Jimi Hendrix. That’s just what Legendary Pictures, the company behind The Dark Knight, 300 and Watchmen, has announced that they’re looking to mount a movie about the music legend.
There is a catch however, according to Variety Legendary don’t have the rights to Hendrix’s life story or any of his music at the moment. This is where previous attempts to make a Hendrix biopic have foundered. Numerous people have tried to make one, with everyone from Lenny Kravitz to Andre Benjamin rumoured to play the lead, however the musicians’ estate has been incredibly protective and they’ve always refused to co-operate.
Legendary is planning to put the project together first, and then try and sort out the rights issues once the estate can see the script and other elements they’re bringing to the table (although they have had numerous preliminary talks to ensure they’re not attempting the impossible).
Max Borenstein has been set to work on the script, although there no news yet on a director or possible cast. It’ll be interesting to see whether this one ever gets out of the gates, as while Hendrix has a fascinating life story, bringing it to the big screen has defeated an awful lot of people so far.