The Grateful Dead is one of those cults that everyone inside thinks is the single most amazing thing in the history of the universe and everyone outside can’t even begin to fathom. Why would people travel around the country to hear a bunch of tuneless never-ending jams? The point, of course, is that a lot of people did and some of them might also be interested in a movie adaptation of autobiography by one of their roadies. That’s what producer/writer Michael Grais is hoping anyway.
Grais, the writer of Poltergeist, wants to turn “Home Before Daylight” by Steve Parish into a big screen reminder that there used to be a time when music was so bad you had to get high before it sounded good. Parish will co-produce the movie and former Dead guitarist Bob Weir will be music coordinator. Parish was a teeenager when he joined up with the band and spent the next 35 years carrying their amps and disregarding this country’s strict drug laws.
While the thought of seeing their idols up on screen is enough to get even the most ardent Dead Head to drop back in, fans of The Doors might explain how having your idols turned into a movie isn’t always a good thing. Grais doesn’t have a great track record with music movies, previously producing the excerable Great Balls of Fire! about Jerry Lee Lewis. In fact, after Poltergeist in the early 1980’s and Cool World in 1992, Greis has done very little of note. So take a break from the Phish concerts Dead Heads and support your tie-dye heroes.
