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Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Revealing Jeff Buckley Doc, ‘It's Never Over,' to Arrive This Summer
A new documentary, It's Never Over: Jeff Buckley, which examines the life of the late singer-songwriter, will open in movie theaters on Aug. 8. An HBO premiere will follow this winter. The film, by director Amy Berg (Phoenix Rising, West of Memphis), features never-before-seen footage from Buckley's archives. His mother, Mary Culbert, and former partners Rebecca Moore and Joan Wasser gave new interviews for the picture. It also includes commentary from Buckley's former bandmates, Michael Tighe and Parker Kindred, as well as singer-songwriters Ben Harper and Aimee Mann. More from Rolling Stone 'It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley' Pays Tribute to One of the Greatest Singers Ever Jeff Buckley's Mom Finally Explains Why That Brad Pitt Biopic Never Happened Questlove's Sly Stone Documentary to Premiere at 2025 Sundance '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 said in a statement. 'I'm so excited Magnolia and HBO have come on board to share this film with the world and give old fans and new audiences a chance to experience Jeff from this unique vantage point.' The film looks at how he followed in the footsteps of his father, singer-songwriter Tim Buckley — who died at age 28 when Jeff was 8 — and launched his own music career, signing to Columbia Records. A concert recording, Live at Sin-é, came out in 1993, and Buckley's sole studio album, Grace, came out in August 1994, three years before his death at age 30. His own legacy has grown ever since. When the film premiered at Sundance in January, Rolling Stone wrote that the picture 'does justice to [Buckley's] legacy.' 'Buckley's mother, Mary Guibert, has been extremely protective over her son and his songs, but she's opened up the vaults for Berg's film,' the review said. 'There are pictures of Buckley as a chubby, smiling baby, and rocking a metalhead shag mullet as a teen; clips of him playing in high school bands, glimpses into notebooks filled with an elegant scrawl that you can only describe as Buckleyesque. Music from every phase of his career, in both rough-demo and finished form, plays over the soundtrack, along with voicemail messages — including the last one he left his mom — and recording session banter. Rarities abound, which makes this feel as much like an archive tour as a movable scrapbook.' Best of Rolling Stone The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Brad Pitt Wanted to Play Jeff Buckley in a Biopic but the Musician's Mom Nixed It — Here's Why
Brad Pitt once explored the possibility of starring in a biopic about Jeff Buckley, a talented and promising musician who died in 1997 at the age of 30. Buckley's mother, Mary Guibert, has revealed that the Wolfs star, 61, asked her for permission to create the biopic after inviting her to his 2000 wedding to Jennifer Aniston, which she quickly granted. 'If there's 20 people calling you, and Brad Pitt is one of them, who are you gonna pick to go see?' Guibert told Variety with a laugh, though she admitted that she was still hesitant to go through with the movie. ''We're going to dye your hair, put brown contact lenses on those baby blues, and you're going to open your mouth and Jeff's voice is going to come out?' she recalled asking Pitt. Related: Michael Jackson Biopic Needs Major Reshoots After Discovery of Past Legal Agreement with Molestation Accuser: Report Guibert said the pair stayed in touch over the years — even after she ultimately made the decision to not go ahead with the biopic idea and instead make a documentary to honor the life of her only son, who is best known for his cover of Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' and the 1994 album Grace. During the process of making the documentary, Guibert said she had Pitt's support, as he helped to preserve all of Buckley's belongings and bring it to a digital space. He even became a producer on the film, called It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley, per Variety. She also had the help of director Amy Berg — best-known for her documentary work on West of Memphis — who took on the project. She told Variety that she shared Guibert's vision for the film. 'Once I started listening to his voicemail messages and his DAP player and demos and reading his journals, I just couldn't imagine it being anything but a documentary,' Berg explained. 'I just didn't know how you could kind of replicate Jeff in that scripted sense.' Related: Paying Tribute to the Celebrities Who Have Died in 2024 One of the things the new documentary will shed light on is Buckley's death. Berg told Variety that there was an idea that 'Jeff probably overdosed, which was far from the truth,' noting that his death was attributed to drowning in a Memphis river. She said the late singer's legacy is one which transcends time. 'One of the great things about Jeff Buckley is you discover him when you're meant to discover him,' Berg said. 'He has definitely made a big impact on TikTok, where I was surprised to see that he has more followers on the Jeff Buckley hashtag than even Bob Dylan. He's definitely having another moment in pop culture history.' Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 24. Read the original article on People
