Bruce Springsteen biopic acquired by 20th Century Studios
Ahead of buzz around the casting of Jeremy Allen White, the Bruce Springsteen biopic has recently been placed in the hands of 20th Century Studios in association with Disney. The film explores the time Springsteen spent when recording his album Nebraska.
The movie was initially set to be an A24 production, but Searchlight head Norman Greenbaum has announced that 20th Century Studios will be the main distributor, as reported by Deadline. It is set to be directed by Scott Cooper, whose previous work has included work on the supernatural horror film Antlers.
The vision for the film had begun in the mind of Eric Robinson of Gotham Group. After listening to Springsteen’s former manager, Jon Landau, talk about Warren Zane’s book Deliver Me From Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska, Robinson began to explore the different facets of the heartland rocker’s work before stumbling upon the idea of working on Nebraska.
Aside from being one of Springsteen’s most celebrated moments, the album also marks the first time he played without his trademark E Street Band. In lieu of bringing in the full band to flesh out the songs, Springsteen ultimately decided to release the album while it was still in its demo stages, with most of the instrumentation coming from his voice, an acoustic guitar and a harmonica.
Coming off a bout with depression after Darkness on the Edge of Town, Springsteen tackled stories in the album that dealt with dark subject matter. After Born to Run, the songwriting legend began writing about his own internal struggles on tracks like ‘My Father’s House’ and ‘Reason to Believe’.
The album is keeping with Springsteen’s wishes for a movie about him, later claiming that the album was most representative of who he is. After getting the dark side of himself out of the system, Springsteen would later return to his heartland rock sound, making a blockbuster album of the 1980s with Born in the USA.
The news also comes as White has been on a streak of acclaimed roles, having turned in time on the TV mainstay, The Bear, and working in the A24 sports film The Iron Claw. There is no word as to when the film is set to begin production, but White is said to be wrapping up filming on The Bear in June of 2024.
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