What have Jamie Foxx and Joaquin Phoenix wrought? Now that Hollywood sees music biopics as gateways to critical acclaim and Oscars, any singer is game — even ones that never really did their own singing. According to Variety, Universal Pictures is developing a biopic about Milli Vanilli, the vocal duo that infamously had to give up their 1990 Grammy for Best New Artist after it was discovered they lip-synched their way through catchy hits like "Blame It On the Rain" and "Girl You Know It’s True." And it definitely sounds like a wannabe prestige project: screenwriter Jeff Nathanson, who first explored the world of cons and chicanery in the Leo DiCaprio/Steven Spielberg vehicle Catch Me If You Can, is set to write, and has secured the help of alumnus Fabrice Morvan (partner Rob Pilatus OD’d in 1998).
Between the music, the drugs, the robbery, the jail time, and the attempted comebacks, I’d say the film is destined for awards. Until, of course, it’s discovered that the two leads didn’t really act out their parts and relied on stand-ins. Speaking of which, whom would you cast in a Milli Vanilli movie? Are there other "artists" more deserving of the biopic treatment?
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I remember when they first really sang the song. It sounded like “Girrl you know it’s trooo!” I was laughing really hard. Falco sounded better with a German accent.
Coming in 2008: “Ice Ice Baby” – the Vanilla Ice story.
OK, gotta share credit with Stephanie here: “Der Kommissar”: the Falco biopic.
“Blue Eyed Soul and Bib Overalls: The Life and Times of Dexy’s Midnight Runners”
The Myth, The Legend, that is Kajagoogoo.
this would onlywork as a Damon Brothers film….and even then it would still stink
“Irony or Idiocy: Behind the Insane Clown Posse Debate”
The Neverending hairstory: The true story of Mark Hamil(aka: Limahl)and Kajagoogoo.
This sounds like it would be better suited for a TV movie, because I know for damn sure I wouldn’t spend $10 at the theater to see two fake Milli Vanilli guys!
C’mon Stephanie, you didn’t go with Flock of Seagulls?
“Everybody Do What Tonight?: The Wang Chung Saga”
“Everybody Do What Tonight?: The Wang Chung Saga”
Paula Abdul: Naturally Drunk
Another stupid idea from Hollywood executives who don’t have an artistic bone in their entire bodies.
i think gary dourdon from csi and harold perrineu from lost would be perfect!!!
Gary Dourdain and the guy who played Tavon on The Shield during Season 3.
Gary Dourdain and the guy who played Tavon on The Shield during Season 3.
Alright Tom, Flock of Seaguls. lol!
How about:
Antmusic or Stand And Deliver: The Adam Ant Story
Things Can Only Get Better: The Howard Jones Story
Frankie Gets banned: The story behind of the original video for Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Actually, the Milli Vanilli movie sounds like it could work. I saw Behind The Music and it was really something.
dma:
The thing is that lip synching is nothing new. American Bandstand, Solid Gold, and Top of the Pops did it all the time. Singers still lip synch (sometimes even during concerts, Britney and Ashley…)
Milli Vanill never sung a note which did make it controversial at the time. However I think that the Behind the Music story pretty much summed it up. And if anything it will be released as a VH1 cable film.
I think this movie is going to be great. These guys were screwed by everyone else involved. Did they lip sync? Yes. Was it their idea? No! These guys deserve to have their story told from their perspective. And, dammit if those songs aren’t still catchy!
Am I the only one who remembers that VH1 showed some really bad biopic of Milli Vinnili this already? I thought they also did one with MC Hammer: “2Legit2Quit So I Got Fired” (which should have been the title, but in all seriousness, I only recall ’cause it showed Hammer’s friendship with 2Pac which seemed totally odd)
But seriously, I’d like one on Oingo Boingo, not just ’cause of the great music, but because I wanna know what happened to the other guys besides Danny Elfman, Movie Score Composer Extraordinare.
Other suggestions:
Won’t Take On Me: The Aha Story
Cruel Career:The Bananarama Story
Our House (Was Foreclosed On): The Story of Madness
I’d love to see a biopic about 2Tone records. The 2tone era brought us Madness, the Specials, and the Beat (remember the song in Ferris Bueler when he’s racing home? That was the Beat).That era also made it cool to ride a scooter, reined in skinny ties, and asked us to Free Nelson Mandela. The record label itself stood for racial harmony (hence the checkers) and, for better or worse, brought back the old skinhead trend from the 1960’s. The label was also hot for a quick minute then disapeared soon after.
If not 2tone, a Stax/Otis Redding biopic would be great! Otis’s life was as exciting as his death was tragic (for those not in the know, he died when his plane crashed into Lake Monona in Madison, Wisconsin a WEEK after sitting on the dock of the bay had been released).
And where’s that Ramone’s movie Entourage promised?
Sorry to rant, but TYPEPAD’s had me blocked from commenting all day. I’ve got comment terrets…
If I were going to do a whole record label, I’d do SST. They had, among others, The Minutemen, Meat Puppets, Hüsker Dü, Black Flag, Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr. There’s even a book called “Our Band Could Be Your Life” (which also covers bands like Mission of Burma and Minor Threat) that’d make a good starting point for the script.
Furry Tom, I love your idea! Subpop or IRS records or really, most indy labels would probably make pretty interesting stories. That said, SST had an amazing slate of artists…
I’ve always loved that Black Flag album with the Pismo Beach show promotions on side 2. “My girlfriend left me, I lost my car, lost my job and got kicked out of my apartment. I’m going to end it all tonight at the Black Flag show on Pismo Beach, and all you punk MFers better be there to see me do it”. AWESOME.
Gotta ask, who would you cast to play Henry Rollins? Or Henry Rollins as a parody of himself?
RE: Henry Rollins
Ironically, I was thinking the same thing when I was writing that. Bruce Campbell has the look and he’d have been perfect in the role when he was younger. We need a time machine to make this happen!
In the Milli Vanilli movie, the actors have to promise to lip-sync their lines. All right, that was too easy…
I agree with Mark in nyc when he mentioned the Damon brothers, in which I think he meant the Wayan brothers. Unless Damon brothers refers to Matt Damon and Ben Affleck…in makeup…as a response to White Chicks! I love it! White guys pretending to be black guys pretending to be singers…where’s Kevin Smith’s number, I know I have it somewhere…
Upon hearing the news of Milli Vanilli-The Movie being picked up by Universal, I was both happy and sad. Happy because maybe now the real story will be told which included my Twin sister Linda and I as the female part of the group. A lot of what really happened was never published because Frank Farian, the producer and mastermind behind the MV concept, was, as always, in control. Well, he is not in control of this project. That’s a good thing. The events leading up to his announcement to the press that Rob and Fab didn’t sing involved me, Rob, Fab and their then manager Carsten Hein meeting at the Mirage in November 1990 to discuss how we were going to let the world know that the real members of the group were not going to stay in the background anymore.