Musician biopics are continuing to be made, and it seems likeWillie Nelsoncould be among the next to get a scripted film about his life. AtSundance, the new filmWillie Nelson and Familyis set to premiere, giving those in attendance an intimate look into the iconic musician’s life and career. The documentary is co-directed by Thom Zimny and Oren Moverman, who addressed the feature film in a new interview withThe Hollywood Reporter.
According to the filmmakers, the documentary was a dream come true, as Nelson didn’t seem keen on having a movie made about his life. However, he took well to the filmmakers, ultimately agreeing to participate in the production of the movie. Satisfied with howWillie Nelson and Familyhas turned out, it would seem that the music icon and legalization advocate is now much more open to getting the biopic treatment as well.
“I never imagined we’d be doing a documentary about him because he never really wanted a documentary made about him," Moverman said, noting that Nelson is also “interested” in a biopic.
“He’s had time to reflect over the pandemic,” the filmmaker added. “He’s been very careful. He’s almost 90 years old. He lost his sister, who was 91, recently. She’s in the movie and she’s a huge part of his life. So he believes in a lot of inspiring things, and he is a big reincarnation guy. He’s seeing something right now that makes sense to him, and I think he’s very open to a biopic.”
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Willie Nelson’s Story Is Told
Willie Nelson and Familyis a five-part docuseries that dives into both the highs and lows and Nelson’s life. Moverman praised Nelson for how open he had been with them for the documentary, even though there’s no shying away from the darker chapters. It came from having a full trust in the filmmakers, allowing them to ask him anything they wanted to tell the story as accurately as possible withWillie Nelson and Family.
“His openness is shocking,” the co-director explains. “If you do a deep dive, it’s not going to be all surface gloss. Many parts of his life have been amazing, but he was very open about the dark stuff, about the heartbreaks and the pain. He was open at all times, and he basically said, ‘ask me anything.’”
Musician biopics have proven to be very successful in recent years, leading to the question getting asked of Nelson how he feels about taking that avenue. Last year,Elvisdebuted to critical acclaim and box office success, with Austin Butler recently winning the Golden Globe for Best Actor with his performance as Elvis Presley. Many more musician biopics are currently in the works as well, including upcoming moviesbased on Buddy Holly, Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse, Ozzy Osbourne, and many more.
