Looks like the battle of the Buckleys could be heating up. In June, it was announced that Penn Badgley would be taking on the role of the young Jeff Buckley in Greetings from Tim Buckley, and now director Jake Scott has found someone to play the man in his own, untitled, biopic of JB. Reeve Carney, last seen in The Tempest, is apparently the man for the job.
The two films, of course, will focus on different times in Buckley’s life: Greetings is set early in his career, while Scott’s film will focus more on his fame before his untimely death in a drowning accident at the age of 30.
Scott also has an advantage in that he has the full backing of Buckley’s family and the exclusive rights to both his music and personal archives. He’ll work from a script by Ryan Jaffe, which Jaffe researched using a variety of sources, including David Browne’s book Dream Brother: The Lives and Music of Jeff and Tim Buckley.
Though he only released one studio album – Grace – Buckley’s music has been heard in several posthumous tracks and had a huge impact on those who came after him.
As for Carney, he’s also appeared in films such as Snow Falling on Cedars, but is currently best known for starring in (or perhaps that should be surviving) stage musical Spider-Man: Turn of the Dark. And he doesn’t just have theatre chops, as he’s spent years playing with his band, Carney.
“We are over the moon that Reeve has agreed to take on this challenging role. I’ve seen him perform several times… He’s been getting ready for this all his life. It certainly doesn’t hurt that he looks so much like Jeff,” said Buckley’s mother, Mary Guibert, in a statement picked up by Collider.
And Scott is also enthused about the choice: “We are excited to have found in Reeve the perfect combination of musical prodigy, impish charm, innate intelligence & sensitivity to play Jeff.”
Oh, and there was a rumour that Robert Pattinson was vying for another film about Buckley, but things have gone quiet there. Could it emerge as a sudden competitor? We’ll see…