The legendary filmmaker was originally left out of the project, which will be headed up by the producer of Bohemian Rhapsody.
Musicals and biopics based on famous musicians are pretty big business right now.
In just the last couple of years the likes of Bohemian Rhapsody, A Star Is Born, Rocketman, Mamma Mia 2 and The Greatest Showman have all cleaned up at the box office.
Some have even landed the most prestigious of awards, with Rami Malek taking home the Oscar for Best Actor at this year’s Academy Awards ceremony.
So why stop now? That’s the presumable attitude of producer Graham King – he of Bohemian Rhapsody fame – as he gets set to finally bring the story of the Bee Gees to the silver screen.
Having secured the rights to the back catalogue, King will be able to deliver a film powered by the group’s iconic songs, which is a good thing considering that upcoming unofficial David Bowie film is unable to do that.
Interestingly, the Bee Gees project has been in the works for some time, having long been attached to Steven Spielberg’s Dreamworks production company and later his Amblin imprint.
As such, it came as a surprise when Paramount announced the film earlier this week, with Spielberg’s name absent.
Things get further intriguing with the news that Spielberg was seemingly not pleased about this development and has now been added to the team following a quick negotiation.
The Hollywood Reporter says that Amblin will now finance 25% of the film, with the report noting that it is “unclear” how Spielberg was “left out of the loop”.
As for the picture itself, Barry Gibb, the last surviving member of the Bee Gees, is said to have given his blessing following meetings with King over the summer before Paramount bought the rights to the band’s life story just last month.
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