woodstock Tagged Articles at Cinematical

You might have heard that this year is the 40th anniversary of Woodstock. We've got Taking Woodstock on the way, and now we're getting a reminder that we still haven't gotten big-screen Jimi Hendrix rife with the music that made him an icon. (Like his Woodstock performance of "The Star Spangled Banner.") There was the mess back in 2006, but now Variety reports that Legendary Pictures is eager to get a biopic in the works. But, you see, they don't have the rights.

Rather than doing things the logical way -- that is, getting the green light from the rights holders and then creating the project -- they're going to cross their fingers and do it the opposite way. "The company's plan is to develop the project first, then try to win the cooperation of the estate." At the very least, it would mean that Legendary would have to cook up one heck of a film to be the final victors -- winning the rights from Experience Hendrix (run by his stepsister, Janie Hendrix). But it's also one risky move -- stepping in where others have already failed.

What do you think the project will need to win the respect, and rights, from Janie? Surely, the film will have to be respectful, but it'll also have to be wonderfully cast -- hopefully with someone who knows their way around a guitar. Is there anyone who could embody Jimi in both talent and spirit and put us in a "Purple Haze"?

It looks like Ang Lee isn't heading back into big-budget Hollywood waters any time soon. Variety reports that the Brokeback Mountain director will instead take on another gay-themed project: an adaptation of a book called Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot, a Concert, and a Life. It's the autobiography of Elliot Tiber, an unassuming Catskills hotel manager and interior designer who wound up playing a pivotal role in making the Woodstock festival a reality. The point, I take it, is that Tiber's role in one of the greatest events in rock and roll history served as redemption for giving up his own artistic ambitions and living most of his life in the closet.

As readers of this blog have probably guessed, I'd watch a cheese sandwich if Ang Lee directed it. This project seems lighter than anything the filmmaker has done since at least Eat Drink Man Woman, and I wonder how (if at all) it will jive with the deliberate, supremely controlled style he's been nursing in his past few movies. It'll be interesting if Lee takes this opportunity to return to the much looser vibe of his early comedies.

Lee's longtime producing partner James Schamus is also on board for Taking Woodstock, and the fact that Schamus is the CEO of Focus Features conveniently takes care of distribution.

If there's something Martin Scorsese knows about almost as much as movies, it's music from the '60s. Apparently. Why else would he be on such a roll these days with music documentaries on iconic acts from that time? First there was the wonderful Bob Dylan documentary No Direction Home; now he's about to release a Rolling Stones doc titled Shine a Light; and he's just announced another doc he's going to make about George Harrison. According to Variety, the film will be more of a comprehensive biography, covering Harrison's time in The Beatles, as a solo artist, his Eastern religious/philosophical interests and even his stint a movie producer (his Handmade Films gave us Monty Python's Life of Brian and Terry Gilliam's Time Bandits). Scorsese is producing with Olivia Harrison (George's widow) and his No Direction Home producer Nigel Sinclair, and filming will begin with some interviews later this year. It will take awhile to finish, of course. The untitled pic will again be edited by David Tedeschi, who also cut the other two Scorsese music docs.

Maybe if time permits, Scorsese can do more '60s icons after he's done with Harrison. Neil Young may not be worth another film, and The Doors doc would probably be better suited to Oliver Stone, but surely we could use a Scorsese-directed film about Eric Clapton or any of the girl groups (The Shirelles, The Ronettes, The Marvellettes, The Crystals, The Shangri-Las) he likes to use for his soundtracks. Hey, he could just do a doc on girl groups. It's so good to see Scorsese getting back to music docs so long after working as an assistant director on Woodstock, and later as director of The Last Waltz, and I can't wait to see what else he's got planned. Anyway, there's no use thinking so far ahead. I'm still simply waiting for Shine a Light, which doesn't come out until April, and I'm definitely looking forward to the Harrison film, which will feature a ton of archival footage provided by his family and is expected to feature surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.

Dude, this one is so totally bunk. While some view a Woodstock-type setting as the perfect place to bathe in mud and consume as many different drugs as possible, David Arquette sees it as the perfect spot for a balls-to-the-wall horror flick. The Scream alum has been tapped to make his directorial debut with The Tripper, off a script written by Arquette and Joe Harris.

Pic surrounds a group of friends who travel to a modern-day Woodstock-ish concert, only to be stalked by some sicko who's out to finish what he started years earlier. Damn, talk about a serious buzz kill. Arquette and his lovely wife, Courtney Cox, are both said to be making cameos alongside a cast that includes Jamie King, Thomas Jane, Jason Mewes, Lukas Haas, Paul Reubens and Balthazar Getty.

With shooting set to take place this month, I'm wondering how a post-rehab Jason Mewes is going to handle this type of drug-induced environment. Oh, and since Woodstock is known for its blatant naked drum circles, which Pee Wee Herman do you think will show up?