by Justin Cook
Jean-Marc Vallée, director of Dallas Buyers Club and the upcoming film Wild, has signed on to direct a Janis Joplin biopic, with American Hustle actress Amy Adams set to play the legendary performer.
The film’s working title is Get It While You Can and it will begin shooting in mid-2015.
The much-delayed project has been in development for over a decade, reaching various stages of production. Producers have been trying to get the film made for years, mainly because so many people are still fascinated by the life and career of Janis Joplin, a singer-songwriter who rose to fame during the 1960s and died of a drug overdose in 1970.
Adams was originally attached to play Joplin in 2010, back when City of God director Fernando Meirelles was set to helm the film. The film was supposed to go into production in 2011, but complications set the film back many years. At one point, even The Butler and Precious director Lee Daniels was attached to direct, but those arrangements fell through as well.
Ron and Theresa Terry have written the first version of the film’s script, and Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack are in negotiations to come in for rewrites. Borten and Wallack recently were nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for Dallas Buyers Club at the Oscars. Producing the film will be Ron Terry and Nathan Ross.
Vallée is expected to begin working on the biopic after he finishes his work on next year’s Demolition, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Naomi Watts and Chris Cooper. This year his film Wild, starring Reese Witherspoon, will be released.
Between Witherspoon in Wild and Matthew McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club, Vallée certainly knows how to get great performances out of his actors. He seems like a perfect fit for a Janis Joplin biopic, where much of the film’s success will ride on Adam’s portrayal of Joplin.
Adams can soon be seen in the upcoming Tim Burton movie Big Eyes, coming out later this year, and the much-anticipated film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in 2016.
Source: Deadline
