“The Messenger” writer-director Oren Moverman is in talks to take over Universal’s Courtney Love-sanctioned biopic of Nirvana frontman, Kurt Cobain.
Moverman is coming off two Oscar nominations for his directorial debut and will helm and rework the David Benioff (“Brothers”) screenplay, which is based on Charles R. Cross’ 2001 biography “Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain” and first-hand research Benoiff conducted with Cobain’s old friends in Aberdeen and Seattle.
Overman is a screenwriter first and foremost and wrote pictures like, “Jesus’ Son” and “I’m Not There” before moving into directing, so it’s possible we could see a significant retweak of that script (not that many have read it).
Marc Forster was at one point linked to the project but later denied his involvement.
The film reportedly covers the last two days of Cobain’s life leading up to his suicide but its accuracy may ultimately come into question as Love isn’t just approving the film’s development but also executive producing. It’s undoubtedly a conflict of interest but surely the studio is smarter than to give her too much power, right? Having said that, we wouldn’t be adverse to her reported dream casting of Ryan Gosling and Scarlett Johansson as her and Cobain. James McAvoy was also linked early on.
As much as Cobain biopic is unnecessary, especially after Gus Van Sant’s fresh-in-the-memory “Last Days,” it would be interesting to see what Moverman can do with said material.