Sometimes, schedules being shifted creates annoying delays for films we’ve been eagerly anticipating. But sometimes, it can also mean that filmmakers find time to slot in other interesting projects. Randall Miller is taking exactly that opportunity to get a biopic of legendary CBGB club owner Hilly Kristal up and running, with Alan Rickman starring.
Miller had been putting the pieces in place to shoot The Drummer, a biopic of Beach Boys’ skins-hitter Dennis Wilson that has Aaron Eckhart in the lead. But with that movie’s production schedule now shifting to the autumn, the director is putting the Kristal project before cameras first.
Rickman, who worked with the director on Bottle Shock, is set to play Kristal, the man who launched CBGB in New York in the late 1970s, intending it as a venue for country, bluegrass and blues music. But when those musicians were thin on the ground, Kristal opened up opportunities for local performers, leading to the club’s reputation for helping to launch the careers of talents such as The Ramones and Patti Smith.
Regular collaborator Jody Savin wrote the script with Miller and they’re planning to kick off shooting in June. Rickman will next be seen in the remake of Gambit alongside Colin Firth and Cameron Diaz.