The movie about the later Dennis Wilson is officially shelved after his children dropped out of the project.
- Dec 13, 2013
AceShowbiz - "The Drummer (2012)" has unfortunately met a dead end. The Beach Boys biopic about Dennis Wilson is canned after several delays due to some reasons that included script issues and the departure of Aaron Eckhart initially set to play the band's founding member who drowned in 1983 at the age of 39.
Eckhart had spent six months learning to sing and play piano and drums when he left the movie just before the production began in summer 2012. His hectic schedule was believed to be a factor in his departure. "It was a huge blow for us when Eckhart pulled out," Brad Rosenberger, the film's music supervisor and a publisher of Wilson's songs, tells The Hollywood Reporter.
The project was supposed to be produced by Carl and Jennifer, Wilson's children from separate marriages. "The Dennis Wilson Trust can confirm that there is no plan for proceeding with the Drummer project," Shelley Surpin, a trustee for Wilson's estate, says in an email.
The film idea was presented to Wilson's family by Rosenberger in 2008. Randall Miller was initially tapped to direct the biopic. They had even secured the rights to use songs from "Pacific Ocean Blue", Wilson's solo album. Rupert Grint, Vera Farmiga and Chloe Moretz were among the cast members.
Despite "The Drummer" cancellation, Rosenberger is still confident that they could make a Beach Boys film in the future. "With everything in the right place, they would love to see a movie honoring their father," he says. "There are no plans to make this Dennis Wilson movie now, but I don't think it would be accurate to say we don't want a movie to be made."
While Dennis Wilson film fell apart, another Beach Boys movie titled after Brian Wilson's first solo album "Love & Mercy" is still in the works. Paul Dano will play the young Wilson, and John Cusack is expected to portray the musician's older version. Elizabeth Banks is cast as his second wife Melinda and Paul Giamatti is on board to portray his therapist Dr. Eugene Landy.
