Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Penn Badgley Cast As Late Singer Jeff Buckley In Biopic


Penn Badgley has been tapped to play late singer Jeff Buckley on the big screen.
According to Deadline, the "Gossip Girl" star will play the late rocker in the upcoming "Greetings From Tim Buckley."
The film is based on the true story of Jeff attempting to come to grips with his father, Tim, abandoning him and is centered on the days leading up to the famed 1991 tribute concert to the elder Buckley in 1991, which launched Jeff's career before he died in 1997 at the age of 30.
"To play a man who was singularly gifted as an artist, greatly misunderstood and mythologized as a human being... it's something very special and sacred. I'm going to give all I can to this project," Penn said in a statement.
According to Patrick Milling Smith of Smuggler Films, the company producing the film, the search for right actor to play the singer took time.
"We had been searching well over a year for an actor that can come close to Jeff's spirit while also having the serious musical chops required to authentically tell this story. Penn's audition blew us away and we knew we found our star," Smith said.
It's not known if Penn will sing in the upcoming movie, but check out a taste of the actor's musical skills during an interview earlier this year with Bullet Magazine
Badgley's project is not the only movie in the works about Jeff Buckley. According to the Los Angeles Times, a different biographical film is being developed about the late singer that will be directed by Jake Scott ("Welcome to the Rileys"). Buckley's mother will serve as an executive producer on that movie.
"Greetings from Tim Buckley" is slated to start shooting in August in New York City.

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