New Jimi Hendrix Film

Buster said:

I think we're saying the same thing Phil.

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You were a bit more eloquent in your delivery.

I'm worried about this.

One, there's a pretty poor track record for rappers-turned-actors. I don't like to generalize, but this Andre person better do Jimi justice.

Secondly, they can't use Jimi's music. What kind of biopic doesn't use Jimi's music? Hopefully they're allowed to at least record covers (I'm not sure how the law works with that).

Definitely more confident on the Baron Cohen Mercury flick.

TheFeldster said:

I'm worried about this.

One, there's a pretty poor track record for rappers-turned-actors. I don't like to generalize, but this Andre person better do Jimi justice.

Secondly, they can't use Jimi's music. What kind of biopic doesn't use Jimi's music? Hopefully they're allowed to at least record covers (I'm not sure how the law works with that).

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To be honest, I don't think it's going to happen. And even if it did, what kind of biopic would it be with the family standing over the directors? They would try to make Hendrix out as an angel, which he certianly was not.

I'm pretty sure the family can do nothing about a group making a Jimi Hendrix film. A few months ago the family lost an important court decision where Leon Hendrix was going to sell some kind of Hendrix label vodka. The judge ruled that although the family did own the rights to Jimi Hendrix's music they did not own all mention of Hendrix. So any film group is perfectly able to make a movie about Jimi. Besides, they said filming was going to start in 3 weeks, so the project is definitely a go.


I feel sorry for anyone who attempts to play the role of Jimi Hendrix. Jimi was so unique and such a singular personality that anyone who tries to play him automatically suffers by comparison. Some recent Hendrix productions of the last decade more than prove that. That goes for Jimi's music as well.


One thing I did notice about Andre 3000 is his soft and receding manner, which is important when trying to portray Jimi. I've heard he isn't as politically/spiritually conscious as Jimi (who would be?). However he does appear to at least be a good visual match, which is important in the film medium.


What I'm worried about mostly is the playing-down of Jimi's situation with his manager and how the film depicts it. There's a momentum building with Tappy Wright's book over Jimi's murder that this film could harm if it neglects showing Michael Jeffery as he truly was - that is, a scheming crook with devious purposes and the man who eventually murdered Jimi.

Buster said:

I'm pretty sure the family can do nothing about a group making a Jimi Hendrix film. A few months ago the family lost an important court decision where Leon Hendrix was going to sell some kind of Hendrix label vodka. The judge ruled that although the family did own the rights to Jimi Hendrix's music they did not own all mention of Hendrix. So any film group is perfectly able to make a movie about Jimi. Besides, they said filming was going to start in 3 weeks, so the project is definitely a go.

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Perhaps I should rephrase. Why would anyone want to see a movie about a musician that includes none of that muscian's music?

Phil B. said:

Perhaps I should rephrase. Why would anyone want to see a movie about a musician that includes none of that muscian's music?

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Well there's ways to get around that that this project is probably using. I'm pretty sure Jimi played enough cover versions to get some classic Hendrix songs in there. This is probably what they're doing. Songs like Dylan's All Along The Watchtower, Like A Rolling Stone, Hey Joe, or Killin' Floor are classic Hendrix songs whose copyrights are not owned by the family company. I believe if you could find a good enough guitar player you could really pull-off some mind-blowing Hendrix sounds while not legally violating the letter of the law of the copyrights.


I assure you I feel even more strongly about any movie that would exclude the true version of Jimi's death.

Buster said:

Well there's ways to get around that that this project is probably using. I'm pretty sure Jimi played enough cover versions to get some classic Hendrix songs in there. This is probably what they're doing. Songs like Dylan's All Along The Watchtower, Like A Rolling Stone, Hey Joe, or Killin' Floor are classic Hendrix songs whose copyrights are not owned by the family company. I believe if you could find a good enough guitar player you could really pull-off some mind-blowing Hendrix sounds while not legally violating the letter of the law of the copyrights.

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You have a good point. Hendrix did a lot of covers. That would be one way around it, but still, it would be a lesser film without Hendrix penned tunes.

I assure you I feel even more strongly about any movie that would exclude the true version of Jimi's death.

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Yeah, that is a more difficult dilema. I think the general public has been conditioned for so many years about his supposed "overdose".

Phil B. said:

Perhaps I should rephrase. Why would anyone want to see a movie about a musician that includes none of that muscian's music?

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I suppose it could work. Look at films like Walk the Line. Then it would become more of a film for the casual fans as opposed to the diehards though, in my opinion.

ILoveJimmyPage said:

I suppose it could work. Look at films like Walk the Line. Then it would become more of a film for the casual fans as opposed to the diehards though, in my opinion.

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Right, but at least in Walk The Line, they were performing songs penned by The Man In Black.

The way things are looking there is a high probability that anything Hendrix actually wrote (his original tunes) would not make it into the film.

It sucks that there wont be Jimi's song in his biopic! I think it is a disrespect to all the fans and lovers of Jimi's music.
What do the family want? A chunk of the profit from the movie and DVD sales?