Proving that Hollywood can find a reason to war over pretty much anything, there are actually two competing biopics on the life of famed musician Jeff Buckley. Both at one time or another had Gossip Girl's Penn Badgley attached, in what would be his biggest dramatic role since last year's Margin Call. Badgley ultimately sided with Dan Alagrant's Greetings from Tim Buckley, and the film recently made its bow at TIFF to some pretty decent buzz, with Badgley singled out by many as giving a breakthrough performance.
While there's still no distribution deal in place, a new trailer has been released in order to drum up interest, and judging by it I'm pretty sure it can make a decent run on the art house circuit. The film chronicles Buckley's beginnings as a musician in the early 90s, specifically targeting the 48 hours before he was to jumpstart his career at a tribute concert for his father, Tim Buckley. The trailer shows we'll be seeing plenty of how Jeff's career bares striking similarities to those of his father. The cross-cutting between time periods is a little overdone, so hopefully it's kept in check during the film itself. Badgley looks in solid form, and he seems to have a good vibe with co-star Imogen Poots as his love interest.
Hopefully we'll hear something soon of Greetings from Tim Buckley finding a home. Check out the trailer below....
