Audiences are still enthusiastic about so-called “jukebox” musicals on the stage, and cinemagoers flocked to see Mamma Mia when it made the leap to the big screen a couple of years ago, so it’s hardly surprising that studios would be raiding the back catalogue of any popular beat combo from the last, say, 50 years with name recognition and a set of memorable tunes. The latest musical powerhouse aiming for the fleapit? The Beach Boys.
Fox 2000 has won a bidding war with Universal for the rights to a script pitch by Erin Brockovich scribe Susannah Grant and the chance to use some of the most famous songs from Brian Wilson and the rest. But while the film will definitely feature some of their best known tunes (Surfing USA, California Girls, Good Vibrations among them), it won’t actually tell their story – a heady brew of personality problems, legal challenges and line-up switches through the years.
No, Deadline has dug up the basic description that was part of the package used to sell the new film, which explains that, “The story takes place in Southern California over a summer in the 60's. It's inspired by the sounds of the Beach Boys music and the beach culture of that time."
The producers, Craig Zadan, Neil Meron and actor John Stamos (a skilled musician who has actually recorded with one iteration of the Boys) have already used the rights to create a US TV miniseries that roughly chronicled the band’s history, so they likely didn’t want to start re-opening old wounds.
While Grant will likely write the eventual film, there’s no word on a director or cast yet. But based on Mamma Mia, we’re just hoping Pierce Brosnan sits this one out.