Gossip Girl’s Penn Badgley takes the lead in one of two Jeff Buckley films

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

I don’t write the “C’mon Hollywood” column around here, but if I did I might title the next one “C’mon Hollywood: Stop making duplicate films!”

It seems I can’t go a day without writing about one of the two dueling SNOW WHITE projects, and now there’s two Jeff Buckley movies? Really?

I learned this today when I discovered that Gossip Girl’s Penn Badgley had been cast in the role, which I’d only heard about Robert Pattinson circling. Well, turns out Pattinson is still up for a DIFFERENT Buckley biopic. So what’s the difference?

The Badgley one is from Daniel Algrant, and includes a story about a romance between Buckley and a girl working at the concert. The other one is from Jake Scott, and has Buckley’s mother as an executive producer. It centers on his performance during a 1991 tribute concert for his late father, Tim Buckley. Robert Pattinson is still in the running for that one it seems.

The latter one sounds a bit more interesting, and as much as I hate Twilight (and Gossip Girl for that matter) I think Pattinson is probably the better pick.

Do you care about either of these projects?

Update: There seems to be some confusion about the plots of these respective projects, and it appears they might be more closely related than I thought. Jeff Buckley guru Niki Stephens has straightened me out. Here’s the logline from the Badgley film:

“Greetings from Tim Buckley” follows the true story of the days leading up to Jeff Buckley’s eminent 1991 performance at his father’s tribute concert in St. Ann’s Church. Through a romance with a young woman working at the concert, he comes to understand the father who abandoned him. Culminating in a cathartic performance of his father’s most famous songs, Jeff’s debut stuns the audience and launches his career as one of the greatest young musicians of his time.”

The other one is said to be similar, but also focus more on Buckley’s life and career rather than just that one concert.

Source: LA Times

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