'Avatar' star Joel David Moore is Joey Ramone in the punk rock biopic, 'CBGB'

Rapidly climbing up my must-see list for next year is CBGB, which sees director Randall Miller teaming up with his Bottle Shock star Alan Rickman in a biopic of the legendary New York City night club. Punk rock music not really being my bag, I sort of wrote the film off, but a flurry of inspired casting moves have flipped my mind completely. Rickman will play Hilly Crystal, who ran the club as it became a fixture of the punk rock scene in 70s and 80s. Cheetah Chrome of The Dead Boys will be portrayed by Rupert Grint, with Malin Akerman recently signing on as Blondie frontwoman, Debbie Harry. Now you can add a number of new names to the impressive roster of talent, including an unusual pick to play an unconventional punk rock icon.

Joel David Moore, who many will recognize from Avatar and the Fox series, Bones, will play Joey Ramone, lead singer of the Ramones. He'll be joined by Stana Katic(Castle) will play super producer, Genya Ravan, who in the 1960s was the frontwoman for Goldie & the Gingerbreads, one of the first female bands to score a record contract. Julian Acosta will play Johnny Ramone; Josh Zuckerman(Sex Drive) is Punk magazine creator, John Holmstrom; and Estelle Harris(Seinfeld) is Bertha Crystal, Hilly's mother. Ryan Hurst and Richard De Klerk also have roles in the growing ensemble.

All I know about the Ramones is that whenever a character in a movie needs to be presented as "counterculture" or a "loner", they always have one of the band's shirts on. Or they have Ramones on their Ipod. In that way I find the group pretty annoying, but I can't say much about them other than their clear influence not just on punk rock, but on rock 'n roll as a whole.

With a start date set for next month, Miller and co-writer Jody Savin aren't wasting any time putting the pieces together. Expect to see this hitting the festival circuit some time next year. [THR]