Rock 'n' Roll Pioneer Buddy Holly Biopic Officially In The Works

Buddy Holly, a 50s rock and roll pioneer, is the next music icon to get the big-screen treatment with the upcoming "Clear Lake."

The upcoming biopic will be led by Oscar-nominated director, Bruce Beresford, known for his works "Driving Miss Daisy" (1989), "Breaker Morant" (1980), "Mao's Last Dancer" (2009), and "Ladies in Black" (2018).

Variety reports that Beresford will be working with Stuart Benjamin, the producer of the Ray Charles biopic "Ray," to pen the story on Holly's contribution to the 1950s rock and roll scene. Holly will influence musicians, including Elvis Presley, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and more. The story will also cast light on their music's role in the civil rights movement.

Rolling Stone said that the film would focus on Holly's headlining act at the 1958 "Biggest Show of Stars," which also featured Bobby Freeman, Frankie Avalon, and Little Anthony & the Imperials.

"Clear Lake" reportedly has the approval of the musician's widow, Maria Elena Holly, and BMG, which manages Holly's estate. Screenwriter Patrick Shanahan and executive producer Rick French have also signed up for the project.

"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," Beresford told Variety.

"Clear Lake" is set to start its production later in the year, depending on the shelter-in-place orders due to the global coronavirus pandemic. The virtual casting, however, has already started.

It is not the first time that the Lubbock, Texas native, has been featured on the silver screen. In 1978, the biographical film "The Buddy Holly Story" was released with Gary Busey in the lead role. While Busey received an Oscar nomination for the role, the film was wildly criticized for its inaccuracies. These discrepancies led The Beatles' Paul McCartney to create his documentary, "The Real Buddy Holly Story," which featured his interviews with artists who worked with and were inspired by Holly.

Holly also appeared in the 1987 Ritchie Valens biopic "La Bamba." Lou Diamond Philips played Valens while soul artist Marshall Crenshaw played Holly. Crenshaw covered Holly's "Crying Waiting, Hoping" as a part of the film's official soundtrack.

Buddy Holly, born Harles Hardin Holley, was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas, during the time of America's Great Depression. He first appeared on television in 1952 with Bob Montgomery, in the musical duo known as "Buddy and Bob."

Aside from his hits "Peggy Sue," "Everyday," and "That'll Be The Day," Buddy Holly is also known as the first white American act to perform at the famous Apollo Theater. Due to a misunderstanding, the booking agent for the Harlem venue has mistaken the rock and roll band "Buddy Holly and the Crickets" with the R&B group "The Crickets."

Buddy Holly's journey to rock and roll stardom was cut short with the February 1959 air crash, which killed him, his fellow musicians J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson and Ritchie Valens, and their pilot Roger Peterson outside Clear Lake, Iowa. The day went down in history as "The Day The Music Died," known to modern audiences through the repeated reference in Don McLean's 1971 epic "American Pie."