Fresh off a lengthy performance at the VMAs which included a brief N’Sync reunion, Justin Timberlake is making headlines again, but instead of touting his music production, he’s getting invested in a film. According to TheWrap, Timberlake is beginning negotiations to become a producer for MGM’s upcoming remake of The Idolmaker. Despite not having much experience as a producer, his presence in a biopic that is musically oriented is a concrete win for MGM.
And are you ready for the rumor within the rumor? Currently, Timberlake has no interest in starring in the film, but TheWrap’s sources say a quality finished script and director may sway him in front of the camera. His appeal as a movie star has been on the rise in recent years, so MGM would be wise to get his opinions before they do anything else.
The original film, the first feature directed by Ray's Taylor Hackford, was released in 1980, and accounted the life of Bob Marcucci, a rock promoter who discovered teen idols of yesteryear Frankie Avalon and Fabian. Nobody’s real name was used in that film, and I wonder just how close to the original this remake is going to fall. There are more than enough music producers and promoters whose story hasn’t been told already. I’m not sure how much pull Frankie Avalon has on today’s audiences. Though if Timberlake would play Avalon, that might be an oddity worth keeping an eye out for.
Before any of this happens, Timberlake is will be starring in the biopic Spinning Gold, which will be the first film he’ll serve as producer for. That film tells the story of Casablanca Records founder Neil Bogart, who was the first person to sign KISS and ushered in the disco era. That’s a movie with appeal that I can understand, even if I don’t agree with it. I’m clueless as to why The Idolmaker in particular needs to be remade.
I thought it was perhaps all said and done after it was dropped by Ryan Gosling, who had previously signed on to star in and direct the project. He wasn’t attached very long, and had to exit to make Place Beyond the Pines, and eventually setting his directorial debut for How to Catch a Monster. But he left the window open to come back to it when he had time. Maybe that will still happen down the line. In the meantime, somebody better write the shit out of this thing.
You can catch Timberlake later this year in the Coen Brothers’ music-centered drama Inside Llewyn Davis, but before that, he’ll be starring in Brad Furman’s gambling crime thriller Runner Runner, which comes out on October 4. You can find that trailer below, which features absolutely no teen idols or falsetto singing.
