Jonah Hill and Martin Scorsese are to team up for a biopic feature of the band Grateful Dead.
Jonah Hill is on board to play the group’s frontman, Jerry Garcia, while Scorsese will direct and produce the untitled biopic. Hill will also produce through his Strong Baby banner along with his producing partner Matt Dines.
Sources have said that the band and the group’s management will be participating in the film, Apple has rights to use the group’s musical catalogue for the film.
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‘The People vs. O.J. Simpson’ scribes Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski will be penning the screenplay. The band’s Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann will executive produce along with their late bandmate’s daughter Trixie Garcia, Eric Eisner and Bernie Cahill.
Whether the biopic will cover the whole of the band’s lifespan is unknown at this time. The group formed in the 60s’ and they continued to record albums and tour until Garcia died in 1995, though surviving members have carried on in various forms.
Back in 2017, Scorsese made the Grateful Dead documentary ‘Long Strange Trip’ so has extensive knowledge of the band. Hill and Scorsese had previously worked together on ‘The Wolf of Wall Street.’
