Literally some film fans would have been concerned earlier this month when it was announced that An Inconvenient Truth’s Oscar-winning helmer David Guggenheim had pulled out of directing the 3D Justin Bieber movie that is set to take over Valentine’s Day weekend next year.
But, I say to those (probably very lonely) people, fear not, for the movie now has a new director, according to Deadline.
They are reporting that Step Up 3D director John Chu will step into the breach left by Guggenheim, thus creating one of the most dramatic shifts in potential cinematic tone ever witnessed. Just imagine for one minute what might have happened if the Oscar winner had somehow gone ahead and made the film… Unfathomable. Okay, he’s done musical documentaries before, and Scorsese has plundered a rich vein of form from the same source (music, not Bieber), but this would have been an entirely different prospect entirely.
The dance franchise director already has time served with the 3D cameras, which may explain why he was chosen from the supposedly large list of interested parties (if you haven’t seen it, Step Up 3D is actually really well made as a 3D project).
The relative new-comer will be guided by producers Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz, who have cut their musical doc teeth on reality projects like VH1’s Bands on the Run, which showed behind the scenes footage of touring bands. The rest of the production team is made up, so far by Bieber’s manager Scooter Braun (surely a made-up name!) and Island Def Jam boss L.A. Reid.
Casting wise, only the Bieber has his name set in stone, playing himself of course for the supposed rags-to-riches tale: personally, I don’t believe there was one, the kid had reasonable clothes on when he was first breaking on YouTube, and he could obviously afford a computer… But then maybe they need to dial up the magic for his fans.
Clearly excited, Chu released this statement through Paramount:
When I was approached about doing Justin’s film, I jumped at the opportunity to tell a story with honesty and heart. Most people don’t know that his is a true underdog story, and I hope to tell it in a compelling, genuine way, using all source materials available to convey his tale of becoming an icon for this digital age. This is the story of a new voice continuing the tradition of musicians that defined their generation.
For some reason not only Paramount have decided that Bieber’s story is sufficiently interesting enough to warrant retelling already, with publishing giants HarperCollins having tied up the rights to his memoir (at 16 years old- really?!). Perhaps “interesting” is not the right term; Bieber has an incredible fanbase (the video for his song “Baby” has earned more than 270 million hits), rabid even and he is one of the most seriously bankable commodities on the pop market at the minute, thanks to a strategy combining his sickeningly cute face with very clever social media presence.
And who are we to judge? Okay, so a 16 year old doesn’t deserve a biopic at all, and the film-makers should just offer fans a 3D tour movie, with behind the scenes footage of him straightening his fringe and that, but Bieber probably won’t be around too long after the cruel, cold hand of puberty mangles his pretty-boy features and spoils that soppy voice, so he should probably do what he can to survive in the celebrity world.
Shooting has already begun on the project, with the schedule including a shoot at Bieber’s Madison Square Garden on August 31st using 3D cameras to capture the diminutive warbler do his thing. The currently unnamed project will hit cinemas in February 2011.
