Before VH1 or any other copycat took the airwaves, MTV broke the mold and offered a brand new form of entertainment: the music video. The early years of the channel's history saw a collection of colorful "vee-jays," as well as some equally colorful videos, all of which have been covered in a recent memoir that's being adapted by The End of the Tour's James Ponsoldt.
The Hollywood Reporter cites the 2012 biography, I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution, as the source material for James Ponsoldt's upcoming project. The book focuses on the first 10 years of MTV's existence, and the film will aim for the very same focus, taking us through the legendary early days of the network that saw the beginning of an art form. Ponsoldt himself will write the script for the film, as well as produce and direct the picture for distributor A24.
Seeing as James Ponsoldt grew up during the days of MTV's first decade, he's definitely old enough to direct I Want My MTV from the perspective of a fan. But more importantly, the style of Ponsoldt's previous filmography, especially his work on The End of the Tour, has us really excited about the stylistic choices that the director will make in covering those crazy early days that saw videos such as Peter Gabriel's Sledgehammer and on-air personalities like Nina Blackwood, Alan Hunter, and Martha Quinn all making their mark on the fledgling market of cable TV.
While the material covered in I Want My MTV is ripe for a dramatization of any sort, we're actually surprised that this project wasn't optioned for a TV miniseries instead of a narrative film. Still, James Ponsoldt seems like the kind of guy that could really cut to the core of the material in front of him, and seeing his take on the crazy 80's empire that was MTV will be a treat in and of itself. In fact, we're especially looking forward to seeing who the director casts in the various crucial roles of MTV's power players of the era. With the wide range of talent that the director has worked with throughout his career, the sky's basically the limit at this point.
Most people probably don't remember the fact that MTV's rich history of events such as the Video Music Awards and their Spring Break coverage, actually started in that first decade. Not to mention, there was a seismic shift in how music was promoted, as well as the genres of music that ruled the day, changed so drastically between 1981 and 1991. The evolution of the musical landscape itself is rich enough material to make I Want My MTV not only a story of the network that grew out of the video revolution, but also a commentary on the world that grew around such an enterprise's success.
There is no timeline for when we should expect I Want My MTV to be in production, or released into theaters. As soon as we have any further information, we'll update you with what we've found. James Ponsoldt's next film in theaters will be The Circle, which stars Emma Watson and Tom Hanks.
