Jeremy Allen White looks set to swap his white t-shirt for a vest later this year, when he takes on the role of Bruce Springsteen for a new biopic, once shooting is completed on the fourth series of hit kitchen drama The Bear.
via: EW
White is in talks to portray Bruce Springsteen, more fondly known as "The Boss," in a biopic about the making of the rock star's influential solo album, Nebraska.
Tentatively titled Deliver Me From Nowhere, the film is based on Warren Zanes' 2023 book of the same name, Deliver Me From Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska.
Though Springsteen is best known for his stadium-rocking anthems like "Born to Run" and "Born in the U.S.A.," music critics have long hailed his sixth studio album, Nebraska, as some of his finest work. His first acoustic and solo album sans the E Street Band, Nebraska was recorded at a house Springsteen was renting on a simple four-track recorder.
The album bursts with blue-collar character studies, like the death row folk tale of "Johnny 99" and the dark invitation to a night out that is "Atlantic City." In recent years, Springsteen has revealed, via memoir and a one-man Broadway show, his struggles with depression, inherited from his factory-worker father.
Much of those darker themes are at play on Nebraska, and the film would explore this challenging time in Springsteen's life and the ways he channeled his depression into the album while he was on the verge of superstardom. The album also has many cinematic influences, most notably Terence Malick's Badlands.
The Gotham Group, specifically CEO and president Ellen Goldsmith-Vein and producer-manager Eric Robinson, put the project together with Robinson initially seeking the option on the book's rights from Zanes.
The Gotham Group will produce along with Scott Stuber, the former head of Netflix Films. A24 is also in the conversation as a potential studio home and producing partner.
Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart) is in talks to write and direct.
Springsteen and manager Jon Landau are also reportedly involved. Springsteen allowed his music to play a central role in the 2019 coming-of-age film Blinded by the Light, and he has written several songs for movies, including an Oscar-winning track for Philadelphia.
This would mark the first time an actor would portray the Boss in a film about his life. The biopic comes on the heels of films about artists who were deeply influential on Springsteen's work — Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan.
Springsteen and the E Street Band are in the early days of re-launching their world tour after canceling dates last fall due to Springsteen's health. White is currently filming seasons 3 and 4 of The Bear back to back.
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