Jeff Buckley Biopic, ‘It is By no means Over, Jeff Buckley,’ Due Out in Summer season

The Jeff Buckley documentary It’s By no means Over, Jeff Buckley, might be launched in theaters on August 8. The Amy Berg-directed characteristic in regards to the mesmerizing musician who tragically died at 30 when he by accident drowned in Memphis’ Wolf River in 1997 might be launched theatrically by Magnolia Footage after which premiere on HBO and stream on HBO Max this winter as a part of Invoice Simmons’ Music Field collection, in accordance with Deadline.

“Advised by way of never-before-seen footage from Buckley’s archives and intimate accounts from his mom Mary Guibert, former companions Rebecca Moore and Joan Wasser, Jeff’s former bandmates, together with Michael Tighe and Parker Kindred, and luminaries like Ben Harper and Aimee Mann, It’s By no means Over, Jeff Buckley illuminates considered one of fashionable music’s most influential and enigmatic figures,” reads a launch in regards to the movie.

“His solely studio album, Grace, was launched to astounding evaluations and challenged standard concepts of style and gender. His intimate and influential cowl of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ additional catapulted him to fame,” it continues. “Nonetheless, underneath strain to provide his second album, he retreated to Memphis to flee the highlight and the ever-growing glare of the general public eye. In a tragic accident, Buckley drowned within the Wolf River in Memphis in 1997, abandoning an unfinished second album and a legion of devastated household, pals and followers.”

A quantity makes an attempt at making a movie about Buckley have fizzled out up to now, together with one backed by Brad Pitt. In January on the doc’s premiere on the Sundance movie competition, Buckley’s mom, Guibert, mentioned the actor first floated the idea of a movie about the singer in 2000 after befriending her, however she ultimately soured on his pitch. “We’re going to dye your hair, put brown contact lenses on these child blues, and also you’re going to open your mouth and Jeff’s voice goes to come back out?” Guibert mentioned she requested Pitt.

That concept by no means took off, however when Oscar-nominated Ship Us From Evil director Berg pitched Guibert granted her entry to Buckley’s archive and the film moved ahead with Pitt as an government producer.

“I’ve spent virtually my complete profession attempting to make this movie, which takes a really intimate have a look at one of many biggest singers and songwriters of all time,” Berg, who additionally directed the 2015 Janis Joplin doc Janis: Little Woman Blue, mentioned in a press release. “I’m so excited Magnolia and HBO have come on board to share this movie with the world and provides previous followers and new audiences an opportunity to expertise Jeff from this distinctive vantage level. I couldn’t think about a greater workforce to roll this into the world!”

Buckley was the son of Guibert and late folks musician Tim Buckley and after gaining discover as a session musician and charming performer in Manhattan’s East Village he signed to Columbia in 1994 and launched his debut LP, Grace. It initially received blended evaluations and solely reached No. 149 on the Billboard 200 album chart, however the album is now thought of a basic, one which Buckley would by no means observe up.

Although he by no means accomplished a second album, Guibert helped compile a few of her son’s demos for 1998’s Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk, which reached No. 64 on the Billboard 200 and obtained a Grammy nomination for finest male rock vocal efficiency for the only “Everyone Right here Desires You.”