Magnolia Pictures Acquires U.S. Rights To ‘It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley,' Amy Berg's Documentary On Late Ethereal-Voiced Musician
EXCLUSIVE: Magnolia Pictures has landed U.S. rights to It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Amy Berg's portrait of the late musician who developed an adoring fan base before his untimely death at the age of 30.
Magnolia plans to release the film theatrically (available in Dolby Atmos) on August 8. The documentary, which enjoys a 100 percent critics approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, will premiere on HBO and stream on HBO Max this winter, as part of the Music Box series created by Bill Simmons.
More from Deadline
Director Amy Berg On Her Jeff Buckley Documentary: Late Singer-Songwriter 'Brought So Much Love And Authenticity To His Music' – Sundance Studio
'The Case Against Adnan Syed' Director Amy Berg Strikes First-Look Deal With Fremantle
New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern Docu 'Prime Minister' Acquired By Magnolia, HBO Docu Films & CNN Films After Prize-Winning Sundance Bow
'Told through never-before-seen footage from Buckley's archives and intimate accounts from his mother Mary Guibert, former partners Rebecca Moore and Joan Wasser, Jeff's former bandmates, including Michael Tighe and Parker Kindred, and luminaries like Ben Harper and Aimee Mann, It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley illuminates one of modern music's most influential and enigmatic figures,' notes a release. 'His only studio album, Grace, was released to astounding reviews and challenged conventional ideas of genre and gender. His intimate and influential cover of Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' further catapulted him to fame. Still, under pressure to produce his second album, he retreated to Memphis to escape the spotlight and the ever-growing glare of the public eye. In a tragic accident, Buckley drowned in the Wolf River in Memphis in 1997, leaving behind an unfinished second album and a legion of devastated family, friends and fans.'
Magnolia Pictures co-CEOs Eamonn Bowles and Dori Begley said in a statement, 'With only one studio album, Jeff Buckley became a legend. Amy Berg has captured his brilliance and complexity in this incandescent film that no true fan can miss.'
Berg's credits include the Academy Award-nominated Deliver Us From Evil (2006); West of Memphis (2012); Prophet's Prey (2015); the Emmy-nominated docuseries The Case Against Adnan Syed (2019), and Janis: Little Girl Blue, her 2015 documentary about iconic singer Janis Joplin.
'I've spent practically my entire career trying to make this film which takes a very intimate look at one of the greatest singers and songwriters of all time,' Berg commented. 'I'm so excited Magnolia and HBO have come onboard to share this film with the world and give old fans and new audiences a chance to experience Jeff from this unique vantage point. I couldn't imagine a better team to roll this into the world!'
A Topic Studios and Fremantle Film, It's Never Over: Jeff Buckley is produced by Ryan Heller (A Real Pain), Christine Connor (Nuclear Family), Mandy Chang (The Mona Lisa Curse), Matthew Roozen (A Mouthful Of Air), Jennie Bedusa (The Space Within) and Amy Berg. Executive producers are Mary Guibert, Alison Raykovich, Brian A. Kates, Michael Bloom, Jennifer Westin, Maria Zuckerman, Brad Pitt, and Ian Stratford.
'Working with Amy on this labor of love has been a gift,' said Topic Studios' Ryan Heller and Christine Connor. 'And we are delighted that our friends at Magnolia and HBO are joining us to help ensure that Jeff's remarkable story reaches the widest possible audience.'
Mark Reynolds, Global Head of Documentaries & Factual, Fremantle, noted, 'We are delighted to have partnered with Amy Berg and Topic Studios on this deeply human and beautifully made film – with such intimate recollections of an artist who continues to inspire – honoring Jeff's legacy with the care and reverence it deserves. We're equally excited to be collaborating with Magnolia as our North American distributor to help share this powerful story with audiences.'
The acquisition deal was negotiated by Magnolia Pictures SVP of Acquisitions John Von Thaden, with Submarine's Josh Braun, Dan Braun and Matt Burke on behalf of the filmmakers.
It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and went on to screen at festivals around the world including CPH:DOX in Copenhagen, the Sydney Film Festival in Australia, the Provincetown International Film Festival and Nantucket Film Festival – both in Massachusetts.
Musician Ben Harper, who as noted above appears in the documentary, became friends with Buckley after they met at a rock festival in France. In an interview with Deadline at Sundance, he told us about the power of Buckley's voice.
'You just hadn't heard anything like it until he came along. It was as singular an instrument as has existed in the world of sound. As powerful and raw, it was equally as vulnerable and fragile. And to have those two counterpoints all within the same instrument was just something unheard of… To be that raw, but that elegant at the same time, and to be that powerful yet that fragile at the same time was just shocking.'
At Sundance, Berg shared more about her long effort to make the Buckley documentary. 'I finally met up with Mary [Guibert, Jeff Buckley's mom] in 2010, but she didn't give me the rights for another nine years,' she told Deadline. 'But every time I finished a film, I would reach out to Mary. She did share the archive with me back then, and I was blown away by the voicemail messages and the DAT recordings and his candor, and I just kept at it. I always wanted to tell a love story about Jeff because he brought so much love and authenticity to his music. So, I chose people that had a real deep connection with him to be in the film. It's a love story that simply transcends time. '
Best of Deadline
List Of Hollywood & Media Layoffs From Paramount To Warner Bros Discovery To CNN & More
2025 TV Cancellations: Photo Gallery
2025-26 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Tonys, Emmys, Oscars & More
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
IBEW Touts 'Landmark' New Tentative Agreement With CBS
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the largest union representing CBS employees, has reached a new tentative agreement with the network that it calls a 'landmark' deal with 'one of the most significant wage packages in the nearly 90-year history of the relationship.' 'This tentative agreement reflects a new era of partnership and progress that recognizes the important contributions of IBEW-represented technicians while embracing the challenges and opportunities of the future,' IBEW International President Kenneth W. Cooper said in a statement Tuesday. More from Deadline Deal!: Will Smith Music Video Shoot IATSE Picket Over As Producers & Union Reach Agreement, With Oscar Winner's Help – Update 2025 Premiere Dates For New & Returning Series On Broadcast, Cable & Streaming How To Watch The 2025 American Music Awards 'From news and sports to streaming and operations, IBEW members are the engine behind CBS's continued success, just like they have been since 1939. We believe this agreement not only speaks to CBS's commitment to national and local broadcasting, it also reinforces the value of skilled union labor and reflects a shared vision for adapting to the fast-evolving media landscape,' Cooper's statement continued. Specific details of the deal have not been disclosed, given that members still need to vote to ratify it. In addition to wage increases, the IBEW says the agreement establishes a framework for conversations between the union and CBS on artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies, particularly impacting broadcast. Added George Cheeks, Co-CEO, Paramount Global and President & CEO of CBS: 'The skilled technicians and valued employees represented by IBEW have been a bedrock of CBS's success since the early days of television, and that continues as we chart our future together. I want to thank IBEW leaders Kenneth Cooper and Robert Prunn for setting the tone in a collaborative, forward-looking negotiation that worked through issues together and delivered value for all our stakeholders.' Best of Deadline 'Hacks' Season 4 Release Schedule: When Do New Episodes Come Out? Everything We Know About 'Hacks' Season 4 So Far 'The Last Of Us': Differences Between HBO Series & Video Game Across Seasons 1 And 2 Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Joanne Gilbert, ‘The Great Man' and ‘High Cost of Loving' Actress, Dies at 92
Joanne Gilbert, the actress and singer who performed in the hottest nightclubs of her era and appeared alongside José Ferrer in the films The Great Man and The High Cost of Loving, died April 16 in Los Angeles. She was 92. Her father was Ray Gilbert, who won an Oscar for writing the lyrics to 'Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah' from Disney's Song of the South (1946). More from The Hollywood Reporter Renée Victor, Voice of Abuelita in 'Coco,' Dies at 86 Devin Harjes, 'Boardwalk Empire,' 'Daredevil' and 'Gotham' Actor, Dies at 41 Alan Alda, Mike Farrell Among Those Paying Tribute to Loretta Swit: "A Supremely Talented Actor" After signing a seven-year contract with Paramount in 1952, Gilbert was 'introduced' to filmgoers in the splashy George Marshall-directed Western musical Red Garters (1954), starring Rosemary Clooney, Guy Mitchell, Jack Carson and Gene Barry. In the Universal drama The Great Man (1956), Gilbert portrayed the secretary of Ferrer's Joe Harris, a character loosely based on TV-radio host Arthur Godfrey. And in the MGM comedy The High Cost of Loving (1958), she was a friend of the couple played by Ferrer and, making her movie debut, Gena Rowlands. Ferrer directed both films as well. Born in Chicago on July 17, 1932, Joanne Beverly Gilbert and her family came to Hollywood in 1939. Her dad worked for producer Earl Carroll before he joined the Disney songwriting staff, and he went on to write lyrics for such notable songs as 'Casey at the Bat' and the Andy Williams classic 'And Roses and Roses.' After pursuing a career as a fashion model in New York City, Joanne Gilbert attracted attention as a singer at a famed Hollywood hotstop — her dad helped her with her act — leading to her deal at Paramount. 'The Mocambo had one week that wasn't filled, so they decided to let me make my nightclub debut with them,' she said in 1953. 'I was rehearsing with the orchestra when Mr. Morrison, the owner of the nightclub, said he didn't like my costume. 'I was wearing black sequin slacks and a white blouse because it was easy to dance in. But a few hours before I was to go on, they took the scissors and whacked my trousers until they became very short shorts. … it was something different and caused quite a bit of comment.' After making her film debut in Houdini (1953), she sang 'This is Greater Than I Thought' in Red Garters, where her Sheila Winthrop gets involved with a Mexican bandit played by Barry. Three years later, she reunited with Clooney as a guest on the singer's syndicated variety show. Her résumé included the features Good Morning, Miss Dove (1955) and Ride Out for Revenge (1957) and guest spots on The Ford Television Theatre, Bronco, Perry Mason, Follow the Sun, The Outer Limits and Ben Casey. She also headlined at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York and on stages in Las Vegas. Gilbert was married to TV writer and future Barney Miller creator Danny Arnold from June 1955 until their divorce in August 1956 and to producer and TV-production company executive Edward L. Rissien from 1958 until their 1964 divorce. Her father was married to Silk Stockings and Pajama Game star Janis Paige from 1962 until his 1976 death. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 13 of Tom Cruise's Most Jaw-Dropping Stunts Hollywood Stars Who Are One Award Away From an EGOT 'The Goonies' Cast, Then and Now
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Don Rickles almost mutinied against Martin Scorsese during ‘Casino': ‘You don't have to take this from him!'
Comedy legend Don Rickles got fed up with Martin Scorsese during filming of 'Casino' 30 years ago, the Oscar-winning director revealed. Before a Tribeca Film Festival screening Thursday at the Beacon Theatre celebrating the anniversary of 'Casino,' Scorsese and the film's star Robert De Niro remembered a night when things with Rickles — aka Mr. Warmth — got particularly heated on set. 3 Martin Scorsese reminisced about working with Don Rickles during 'Casino.' Erik Pendzich/Shutterstock Advertisement 3 Rickles, who played Billy Sherbert, died in 2017. Getty Images 'We were in a very tough schedule, and we were all pretty tired,' Scorsese, 82, told the crowd of the Las Vegas night shoots that would start around 11 p.m. 'But by that point, Don couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't, because I was driving him crazy. I'm telling him, 'Don, I'll be ready in an hour. Two hours, three hours later, he was still waiting for us. He was dying. 'Get me out of here!'' Advertisement Scorsese added: 'He yelled at one point to the crew, 'You don't have to take this from him!'' Rickles played Billy Sherbert, the head of security for De Niro's Sam 'Ace' Rothstein. But the director and De Niro mostly shared fond memories of Rickles, who died in 2017. Born in Queens, the comic became a Vegas headliner with the help of friend Frank Sinatra and was eventually synonymous with Sin City. 'Don was really a sweet guy, everybody knew that,' De Niro, 81, said. 'And his style — he could be right on when he was acerbic and insulting, but, you know, deep down he was… a sweet guy.' Advertisement 3 Scorsese and Robert De Niro sat down with W. Kamau Bell during the Tribeca Film Festival. Getty Images for Tribeca Festival Scorsese went on to say that Rickles had a point. They were filming at difficult hours in a working casino that even advertised that the famous names were there. 'I was shocked because [the casino] had a kind of a ticker, you know, with a sign outside,' Scorsese said. 'It said, 'Come and watch the shooting: Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Don Rickles — appearing now!' Advertisement Scorsese added: 'I go in, and my A.D., Joseph Reidy, he looked at me, and he said, 'Are you ready?' I said, 'Yes, yes. What's the problem?' He opened the door. A wall of sound.' 'About 10 o'clock at night. Everybody was playing, gambling, and you couldn't quite hear each other,' he said. 'But by around one in the morning, they quieted down.'
