Bobcat Goldthwait To Make Kinks Musical

Chud have scored my favorite news story of the morning if not the whole last week. In an interview with Bobcat Goldthwait, the writer-director of World's Greatest Dad, Devin Faraci managed to squeeze out one piece of scoop-style reportage:

The comedian turned director told me that he was finishing up a spree killer script right now and that after that he would head into a new world: he would make a musical. And it would be based on a Kinks record. In fact, Bobcat had recently met with Ray Davies of the Kinks to get permission.

The album in question is Schoolboys in Disgrace. Spotify Users can access a playlist I've made of the album now and listen to it all, legally and for free and as many times as they want. Perhaps U.S. users could supply a Pandora equivalent via the comments?

We're dealing with a concept album here, so there's a fairly structured narrative already in place. Probably the best way to sum it up is to quote Faraci on why Goldthwait was attracted to the project in the first place. It was apparently "the idea of a story about someone who becomes a villain because he keeps having his legs kicked out from under him by authority." For more, I'd recommend simply listening to the thing. That's what I'm doing now, having not heard the album in sequence for some years.

Goldthwait is currently working on storyboards for the film, the better to convince financiers. Here's hoping it works, and soon. At the same time, he's also wrapping up the scripting on a film Faraci describes as being about a "spree killer" but Goldthwait discussed with IFC as a "serial killer" film and opening "with a guy shooting a baby". This interview, by the way, also mentions Ray Davies' okaying the musical.

I've been right there with Bobcat Goldthwait: Filmmaker since Shakes the Clown. I really do have a silly problem with those make-up faced goons so Shakes, like Killer Klowns From Outer Space, is high on my thrill-ride list, those films I can't watch comfortably if alone but honestly love because they make me quite ridiculously excited. Next up, his prank-as-making-of-doc Windy City Heat was (literally?) unbelievable and Stay/Sleeping Dogs (Lie) was one of the best romantic comedies of this age.

Unfortunately, nobody has seen fit to show World's Greatest Dad to me yet, but I'm absolutely confident it will impress similarly. As Goldthwait seems to be making a better film each time I'm more than just intrigued to see what he gives us next, serial killer film, musical or whatever else.