Film News Roundup: Bruce Beresford to Direct Buddy Holly Biopic ‘Clear Lake’
By Dave McNary
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – In today’s film news roundup, a Buddy Holly movie is in the works, the James Bond exhibition ”Driven: 007 x Spyscape” is going online and Enderby Entertainment is starting virtual production on the thriller “92.”
PROJECT LAUNCH
Oscar-nominated director Bruce Beresford is attached to the Buddy Holly biopic “Clear Lake,” with producers planning for a tentative production start in the fall.
Beresford is teaming with “Ray” producer Stuart Benjamin in developing a story about how Holly and other famous musicians of the late 1950s helped birth rock ‘n’ roll and change the trajectory of civil rights in America. Holly died in 1959 with Ritchie Valens and JP Richardson in a plane crash in Clear Lake, Iowa.
Beresford, Benjamin, screenwriter Patrick Shanahan and executive producer Rick French are working with BMG (which manages the Buddy Holly estate and controls the rights to the Holly music publishing catalog in the U.S.) and The Buddy Holly Educational Foundation.
Beresford received Oscar nominations for the “Breaker Morant” script and for directing “Tender Mercies.” He also directed “Driving Miss Daisy,” which won an Academy Award for best picture. “I found myself attracted to Clear Lake because the script tells the tragic story of Buddy Holly and his era in fascinating detail and with vivid characterizations,” said Beresford. “Needless to say, the added plus of all the wonderful music was also a major lure.”
“Clear Lake” is being developed by French and Shanahan’s Raleigh-based Prix Productions in association with Stuart Benjamin Productions and BMG. Gary Busey starred in 1978’s “The Buddy Holly Story.”
EXHIBITION
Spyscape, EON Productions and Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios are going online with the James Bond exhibition ”Driven: 007 x Spyscape” following the temporary closure of Spyscape in New York City due to COVID-19.
This digital overview of the exhibition explores the creative process behind the 007 movies, and reveals the secrets of James Bond’s iconic Aston Martin DB5, gadgets in Q’s lab, original concept art in Production Designer Ken Adam’s studio and a specially commissioned video homage to the 50-year relationship between 007 and his Aston Martin.
Tickets for the physical exhibition will go on sale again when the COVID-19 situation allows, priced at $23 for adults and $18 for children.
VIRTUAL SHOOTING
Enderby Entertainment is starting virtual production on the thriller “92,” directed and produced by CEO/Producer Rick Dugdale and written by Enderby VP Cam Cannon.
“92” follows five characters based all over the world forced to work together to shut down a secret machine that is either the solution of mankind’s problems or the end of life on earth. The cast features Veronica Ferres, Aleks Paunovic, Lilly Krug, TJ Kayama and Martin Sternmark.
The feature film will be directed from a Los Angeles-based virtual command center, which will oversee concurrent filming in seven countries around the world. Dugdale will remotely supervise the virtual shoot with the actors in each country with their own homes serving as the set.
“We’ve been working around the clock since the start of this pandemic to find a creative way to get back to movie making while prioritizing first and foremost the safety and health of everyone involved,” Dugdale said. “Once we found the right script allowing us to lean heavily on virtual footage, all of the elements started coming together to produce, direct and shoot the entire movie remotely using unconventional platforms, online technology and even security cameras.”
Enderby’s producing credits include “Blackway,” starring Anthony Hopkins, Ray Liotta and Julia Stiles; the political thriller “An Ordinary Man,” starring Ben Kingsley and directed by Brad Silberling; and the “Intrigo” trilogy.
