Bon Jovi set to be subject of new feature film
As part of the music-themed biopics being churned out by Hollywood, Bon Jovi is set to be the subject of a new feature film.
Bon Jovi is set to be the subject of a new feature film.
After Universal won a bidding war to develop a big-screen project about the rock band behind some of the most recognisable hits in modern rock, Jon Bon Jovi, 64, the singer and frontman of the group Bon Jovi, will be among the central figures depicted in the forthcoming film.
It will chronicle the band’s story, with Universal securing the rights to produce the project.
The studio has commissioned screenwriter Cody Brotter to write the screenplay.
Cody previously wrote the forthcoming crypto thriller Killing Satoshi, starring Pete Davidson and Casey Affleck.
No director has yet been attached to the film and casting has not been confirmed for the band’s members, including keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley and bassist Hugh McDonald.
The announcement of the project did not specify which period of the band’s history the film will focus on.
Bon Jovi formed in 1983 and went on to become one of the most commercially successful rock groups of their era, with songs including Livin’ on a Prayer, You Give Love a Bad Name and It’s My Life becoming international hits.
The band has since been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Details about the narrative scope of the film have not yet been confirmed.
Industry reporting noted the project could concentrate on a specific formative moment in the band’s history – similar to the approach taken in the forthcoming Bruce Springsteen film Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere – or take a broader biographical view comparable to the Elton John film Rocketman.
Kevin J. Walsh and Gotham Chopra are attached as producers on the project through their production company Religion of Sports.
Universal has assigned oversight of the film to Jacqueline Garell, the studio’s director of production development.
The planned film arrives amid sustained interest in music-focused biographical dramas at the global box office.
Recent releases in the genre have included Bohemian Rhapsody, about Freddie Mercury and Queen, Elvis, centred on Elvis Presley, and Bob Marley: One Love, which tells the story of the reggae icon Bob Marley.
Not every recent music biopic has been commercially successful.
The Bruce Springsteen project Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere is among the titles that have struggled commercially.
