Cameron Crowe reveals update on progress of Joni Mitchell biopic
A biopic about the life of legendary singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell has been in the works for several years, and director Cameron Crowe has now shared plans for when the film will finally be released.
Crowe first announced that he would be making a movie about the iconic Canadian folk singer in 2023, revealing that he had been in the process of developing it for the past two years. A few months ago, it was speculated that Meryl Streep will be playing an older version of the musician, although there has been no confirmation just yet regarding who will play a younger Mitchell.
The filmmaker is best known for making Almost Famous in 2000, which blended real life and fiction to tell the tale of a teenage journalist (based on his own experiences) who goes on tour with a band called Stillwater and experiences the highs and lows of the rock and roll lifestyle.
Crowe’s film was highly praised, and it remains a beloved cult classic over 20 years on. While the director’s last film, Aloha, bombed terribly, it seems as though he is well suited to making films about music, so there is a high chance that this upcoming biopic will perform much better than his previous directorial effort.
What do we know so far about the Joni Mitchell biopic?
Little is known about the details of the biopic just yet, but it comes after a spate of Hollywood biopics, most notably, James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown about Bob Dylan, which is set for release in January, 2025.
It seems that 2025 will be a big year for folk singer biopics. Crowe has revealed that his film about Mitchell will also be released next year. Talking to Ultimate Classic Rock, he shared, “I’m super-excited. We’re going to start it by the end of this year and hopefully have it done for Christmas next year.”
He continued, “You know, similarly to Heartbreakers Beach Party, it’s Joni’s life, not through anybody else’s prism. It’s through her prism. It’s the characters who impacted her life that you know and a lot that you don’t know. And the music is so cinematic.”
Mitchell has not publicly commented on the biopic, although it has been revealed that she is working closely with Crowe to make the screenplay as true to life as possible. The director also explained, “I found a lot of the people from her early life, a lot of them are still alive. We’ve talked to them and what it was like to know Joni back then, as opposed to now.”
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