FEATURE:
Holidays in the Sun
Danny Boyle’s Upcoming Sex Pistols Drama, and the Ongoing Intrigue and Passion for Music Biopics
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THIS year is going to be a…
IN THIS PHOTO: The Sex Pistols in 1977 (from left: Sid Vicious, Paul Cook, Johnny Rotten and Steve Jones)/PHOTO CREDIT: Virginia Turbett/Redferns
very difficult one for the film and television industry. With social distancing around the world, there are limitations with what shows and films can accomplish. I will talk about music biopics and whether we may see some this year. Even though the Sex Pistols released only one studio album – 1977’s Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols -, their legacy and reputation is huge! Not only did that album impact the youth and fans of the Sex Pistols when it was released but, since 1977, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols has been cited by musicians and it is seen as an all-time classic. As The Guardian reported, a multi-part drama about the iconic Punk band is coming soon:
“Danny Boyle is to direct a six-part television drama about the Sex Pistols – to be titled Pistol – based on guitarist Steve Jones’s 2016 memoir, Lonely Boy. In a statement, Boyle described the Sex Pistols’ emergence in the mid-70s as the moment that British society and culture changed for ever.
“Imagine breaking into the world of The Crown and Downton Abbey with your mates and screaming your songs and your fury at all they represent,” said Boyle. “It is the detonation point for British street culture where ordinary young people had the stage and vented their fury and their fashion, and everyone had to watch and listen and everyone feared them or followed them.”
Frank Cottrell Boyce is writing the series alongside Craig Pearce (Strictly Ballroom). Among its young cast will be Game of Thrones’ Maisie Williams as punk icon Jordan and Toby Wallace, recently seen in Australian film Babyteeth, as Steve Jones. John Lydon is to be portrayed by emerging star Anson Boon.
Pistol will appear on American network FX, which has a partnership for scripted comedy with the BBC. Production is due to start on 7 March.
Director Penelope Spheeris was, at one time, in talks with Lydon about a biopic, but said in 2015 that it was unlikely to happen. “I just don’t know if he’s got the mindset to do it,” she told Pitchfork. “I love him, and I think he changed the world, especially the world of music, but he was suffering from the same thing I was – you get to a certain age and you go, ‘What is my identity?’ What’s Johnny Rotten’s identity? The birth of punk, the Sex Pistols. You want to get it right, and I think John is afraid to get it right”.
It will be fascinating to see the drama and discover how the Sex Pistols transformed and impacted British culture when they broke through. I am a fan of the band, but I would not consider myself a huge fan or devotee. Maybe that is because I only really know about the music rather than the history and a glimpse into the Sex Pistols’ world.
I feel music documentaries, dramas and biopics are a great way of shining a light on artists and providing a fuller picture. I hope we see more music dramas and biopics through 2021. I am not sure how far along the planned Madonna biopic is – which she will direct; Diablo Cody is co-writing – and whether she has someone in mind to play her. There are rumours and suggestions who could play her – including British actor Florence Pugh -, and it will be great to see the biopic come to life on the screen. I think there is a growing appetite for music biopics after fairly recent box office smashes like Bohemian Rhapsody (the Queen biopic). I have written features before where I have imagined which biopics could happen but do not already exist – I think something relating to Stevie Wonder and his career would be fascinating! In addition to a great drama about the Sex Pistols, the recent release of the David Bowie biopic, Stardust, divided people. As it is five years since Bowie died, it would be nice to see a Bowie biopic authorised by his family and estate – one of Stardust’s issues is it features no Bowie music and it is a little pale. As Entertainment Weekly have laid out, we are getting biopics about Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Marianne Faithfull, Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse, Bob Marley and Lemmy fairly soon.
IN THIS PHOTO: Amy Winehouse/PHOTO CREDIT: Ross Gilmore/Redferns
That is an interesting range of artists and, as you want a blend of accuracy, honesty and uplift from biopics, it will be interesting to see what approach is taken when it comes to portraying Michael Jackson and Amy Winehouse on the screen. I am exciting to see what comes out this year and whether the planned biopics are a success, or they fail to strike the right note. I guess many might be held until 2022 but, if studios can find a way to shoot safely, we may get quite a few later in the year. I am pumped to see what comes from the Sex Pistols drama, Pistol, and what sort of reaction it garners. Telling the story of one of Britain’s greatest-ever bands is a hard task but, with Frank Cottrell Boyce among the writers, we will get something fascinating and tremendous! There will be a lot of humour and controversy; it will be illuminating to see the world portrayed at a time when a band like the Sex Pistols exploded and captured the attention of millions. Let’s hope that the pandemic and this year does not quash any ambitions regarding music biopics and dramas, and that we can get to see films in some form. I think things will be improved by the summer, so I can imagine there will be a rush in terms of release around that time. I am looking forward to Pistol and, following that, there are scores of other great music biopics slated that will be…
IN THIS PHOTO: Madonna during the Blond Ambition World Tour in 1990/PHOTO CREDIT: Michael Linssen/Redferns
REALLY interesting to see.