The story of David Bowie’s first trip to America in 1971 and the subsequent invention of his alter ego Ziggy Stardust are set to be charted in a new biopic, entitled Stardust. Musician and actor Johnny Flynn, star of the phenomenal Beast, will play Bowie in the forthcoming movie, which will start filming in June.
Behind the film are director Gabriel Range (Death Of A President) and writer Christopher Bell (The Last Czars). THR reports that Jena Malone and Marc Maron also have parts in the forthcoming project.
The David Bowie ‘story’ has been attempted on film a couple of notable times in the recent past. There was Todd Haynes’ despised-and-then-ultimately-adored 1998 glam rock effort Velvet Goldmine, which seemed to take inspiration from the late musician’s history. Too much, in fact, as Bowie didn’t approve of the project and wouldn’t let Haynes use any of his music in the film. After threatening to sue, Haynes and co set to work on rewrites to make Velvet Goldmine appear less Bowie-ish.
In 2015, Danny Boyle spoke of his “grief” at having to shelve a planned big screen musical about Bowie. Thin White Duke had been penned by Frank Cottrell Boyce (Hilary & Jackie) for Boyle, but again Bowie refused to give the filmmaker permission to use his music. Boyle had previously tried to get Bowie to appear in his 2012 Olympics opening ceremony, too – to no avail.
It will be interesting to see if Stardust contains any actual David Bowie songs when it arrives…