The last time Al Pacino got together with US cable network HBO for one of their films, the result was You Don’t Know Jack, a drama about euthanasia advocate Dr Jack Kevorkian. It looks like their next combo will result in a biopic of Phil Spector, a man who has gone from big-haired music producing legend to frizzy-haired prison convict.
The controversial figure was convicted in 2009 of murder in the second degree following the shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson in his home. He’s currently serving a sentence of 19 years to life.
But while his career appears to have ended in a blaze of notoriety, it began back in the 1960s when he was credited as one of the big pioneers of the time, working with such artists as The Righteous Brothers, Ike and Tina Turner and a little-known popular beat combo called The Beatles. Most famous for his “Wall of sound” production technique, he’s one of the few non-performing members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Now, according to the New York Times, HBO Films is in the early stages of a film chronicling his life (or at least part of it; we’re not sure Pacino could play him as a younger man without some serious make-up). And who is stepping up to write and direct the film? David Mamet. Yeah, we’re in.