Cobain Pic Strikes Chord At WB - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

AKA · 04-20-2004, 09:51 PM

Words can't express how awful an idea this is, especially considering "Heaver Than Heaven" is an awful book.

Cobain Pic Strikes Chord At WB

By Andrew Wallenstein
The Hollywood Reporter

The WB Network is developing an original movie about the life of rock icon Kurt Cobain. The network has obtained the rights to "Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain," the 2001 book by Charles Cross.

Robert Munic ("They Call Me Sir") has been commissioned to write the script for the film, which could get a primetime berth as early as next season. No casting or director is attached.

"The day Kurt Cobain died was the day the music died for a generation," WB senior VP original movies Tana Nugent Jamieson says. "His story is perfect for our audience."

The film will trace Cobain's life from his troubled youth to his pioneering role in the emergence of the grunge music genre as the lead singer of Nirvana. Taking its cue from Cross' biography, the film will detail Cobain's bouts with depression and drug abuse as well as his turbulent relationship with rocker wife Courtney Love.

It's grim stuff for a network that stocks such clean-cut fare as "Everwood" and "Smallville," but Jamieson hopes to give the film a cautionary tone, with a public-service announcement on the dangers of depression possibly following the film. "We can do this right without seeming preachy," she said.

"It's not your traditional biopic," said Munic, who has been on a hot streak, having two movie projects set up at Lifetime and working on a concept for a series at FX. "The storytelling will have a nonlinear style, flashing to different parts of his life out of chronological order."

Skywalker · 04-20-2004, 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by AKA
Words can't express how awful an idea this is, especially considering "Heaver Than Heaven" is an awful book.

Why was the book awful? Was it poorly written or were the facts twisted or something?

AKA · 04-21-2004, 12:01 AM

It's definitely not a slander piece. My beef with it is the dramatizing, which makes it seem less like a biography and more like a Lifetime move or an America's Most Wanted re-enactment.

My biggest complaint is the final chapter, in which Cross writes about Kurt's final hours in great detail, including what he was doing, what rooms he went to; etc. Total fabrication. The only person who knows in that much detail what happened that day has been dead for ten years.

Fez619 · 04-30-2004, 10:22 PM

I agree with AKA in that how would Cross know what Cobain did in his final hours besides himself?

But, for the most part I thought the book was pretty good.

04-20-2004, 09:51 PM	#1
AKA Member Forum Star Join Date: Dec 17, 2001 Posts: 15,746	Cobain Pic Strikes Chord At WB Words can't express how awful an idea this is, especially considering "Heaver Than Heaven" is an awful book. Cobain Pic Strikes Chord At WB By Andrew Wallenstein The Hollywood Reporter The WB Network is developing an original movie about the life of rock icon Kurt Cobain. The network has obtained the rights to "Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain," the 2001 book by Charles Cross. Robert Munic ("They Call Me Sir") has been commissioned to write the script for the film, which could get a primetime berth as early as next season. No casting or director is attached. "The day Kurt Cobain died was the day the music died for a generation," WB senior VP original movies Tana Nugent Jamieson says. "His story is perfect for our audience." The film will trace Cobain's life from his troubled youth to his pioneering role in the emergence of the grunge music genre as the lead singer of Nirvana. Taking its cue from Cross' biography, the film will detail Cobain's bouts with depression and drug abuse as well as his turbulent relationship with rocker wife Courtney Love. It's grim stuff for a network that stocks such clean-cut fare as "Everwood" and "Smallville," but Jamieson hopes to give the film a cautionary tone, with a public-service announcement on the dangers of depression possibly following the film. "We can do this right without seeming preachy," she said. "It's not your traditional biopic," said Munic, who has been on a hot streak, having two movie projects set up at Lifetime and working on a concept for a series at FX. "The storytelling will have a nonlinear style, flashing to different parts of his life out of chronological order."

04-21-2004, 12:01 AM	#3
AKA Member Forum Star Join Date: Dec 17, 2001 Posts: 15,746	It's definitely not a slander piece. My beef with it is the dramatizing, which makes it seem less like a biography and more like a Lifetime move or an America's Most Wanted re-enactment. My biggest complaint is the final chapter, in which Cross writes about Kurt's final hours in great detail, including what he was doing, what rooms he went to; etc. Total fabrication. The only person who knows in that much detail what happened that day has been dead for ten years.

04-30-2004, 10:22 PM	#4
Fez619 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jan 22, 2004 Posts: 99	I agree with AKA in that how would Cross know what Cobain did in his final hours besides himself? But, for the most part I thought the book was pretty good.