Forty years on from his seminal, star-spangled appearance at Woodstock, there are now two Jimi Hendrix movies in the pipeline. As previously reported, Max Borenstein is writing a script for a biopic that Legendary Pictures hope will get the stamp of approval from the Hendrix estate. And this morning it emerges that Angry Films (the company behind Shoot 'em Up) is preparing Slide: a fictionalised account of what happened during Hendrix's 'lost weekend'.
Legend has it that in September 1969, Hendrix was the subject of a hoax kidnapping, orchestrated by his manager. This road movie however, sees Jimi accidentally picked up by two mobsters on the run from the mob-boss they've cheated. There's no indication yet of Slide's tone or direction, so we'd hesitate to say "with hilarious consequences". Is this a comedy or a drama? The word THR uses is "quirky".
Hendrix's life was mad enough that it would seem unecessary to be making stuff up: he started out stealing cars, got thrown out of the airforce for being useless and insubordinate, and became the most awesome rock star in the world before mysteriously dying at the age of 27.
But producer Carol Lewis is likening the project to Peter Bogdanovich's ace** The Cat's Meow**, which she worked on previously. The script is by documentarian Ray Green, who also wrote this year's well-received Dracula "autobiography" Incarnadine (he'll also direct). A strong team then, and since there are no plans for the film to include any Hendrix music, there will be none of the rights issues that could potentially hamper the official biopic. Expect to see this before that: shooting is pencilled in for next year.