The life of Jeff Buckley is coming to the big screen, albeit a bit circuitously, with "Greetings From Tim Buckley." And now we have our first look at "Gossip Girl" star Penn Badgley in the lead role as the late singer.
Written by Dan Algrant, Emma Sheanshang and David Brendel—with Algrant directing— Imogen Poots co-stars in the film that takes a unique approach going back to the singer's first steps to become an acclaimed musician. Here's the official synopsis: Greetings from Tim Buckley follows the story of the days leading up to Jeff Buckley’s eminent 1991 performance at his father’s tribute concert in St. Ann’s Church. Through a romance with a young woman working at the concert, he learns to embrace all of his feelings toward the father who abandoned him – longing, anger, forgiveness, and love. Culminating in a cathartic performance of his father’s most famous songs, Jeff’s debut stuns the audience and launches his career as one of the greatest young musicians of his time.
While some folks bristled at Badgley taking on the legendary Buckley, here's some footage (via MyDiscmanBroke) that may change your mind. The actor recently took the stage at a Ryan Jarman (lead singer of The Cribs) concert in New York City and performed "Lilac Wine" and…it's actually not too bad. What do you think? Is it a good Buckley stand-in?
"Greetings From Tim Buckley" has its World Premiere at TIFF and is seeking distribution. Check out more images and the video below.
