Bruce Springsteen's Best Album Is Getting A Making-Of Movie
America loves biopics about its most famous musicians; 2022's "Elvis" was a smash hit that turned Austin Butler into a star (as seen by his amazing turn as Feyd-Rautha in "Dune Part Two").
If The King is a movie star, it was only a matter of time before the Boss became one — and that time is now. 20th Century Studios and Disney will be producing the first Bruce Springsteen biopic, "Deliver Me From Nowhere." The film (adapted from the 2023 book of the same title by Warren Zanes) chronicles the making of Springsteen's sixth album, 1982's "Nebraska." Biopics are generally best when they don't try to cram a subject's whole life into a couple of hours, so that's a good sign.
Scott Cooper ("Crazy Heart," "Antlers") will write and direct "Deliver Me From Nowhere." Jeremy Allen White, currently starring on "The Bear," is in talks to play Springsteen; look and energy-wise, there's no better casting in Hollywood right now.
"Warren Zanes' 'Deliver Me From Nowhere' is one of the best books ever written about Bruce Springsteen and his music," said Springsteen's manager Jon Landau. "Bruce and I are thrilled that Scott Cooper has chosen to write and direct the film based on that book – we think he's the perfect filmmaker for the job."
Cooper will produce alongside Scott Stuber (recently departed Head of Film at Netflix) and the Gotham Group's Ellen Goldsmith-Vein & Eric Robinson.
Springsteen's road from nowhere
"Nebraska" was a turning point for Springsteen's career. Coming off of electric albums like "Born to Run," "Nebraska" is more down-to-earth. It builds on Springsteen's fifth album, "The River," which had plenty of punchy fun songs but was named for a sad song about a young working-class couple's struggles. With softer vocals and melancholic Western instrumentals (the eponymous first song on the album opens with a harmonica riff right out of an old west town), "Nebraska" feels like a sad epilogue for the dreamers in Springsteen's earlier albums.
My favorite on the album is "Atlantic City," a cinematic song about a broke young man with no options who decides to join the mob, while telling his girlfriend to meet him for one last night of romance in, where else, Atlantic City. It's some of Springsteen's best storytelling, which even as far back as "Born to Run" was always his greatest strength as a musician.
"It is a once-in-a-lifetime honor to be collaborating with Bruce Springsteen, an inspiring and incomparable artist who represents so much to so many," said David Greenbaum, president of Disney Live Action and 20th Century Studios. "The deep authenticity of his story is in great hands with my friend Scott Cooper whom I am thrilled to be collaborating with once again."
This is the first biopic of Springsteen, but not his first movie; he's starred in several concert films, even co-directing one based on his 2019 album "Western Stars" with Thom Zimmy. If you think they missed a golden opportunity to not title a Bruce Springsteen biopic "Born to Run," then fear not — that's the title of his autobiography.
"Deliver Me From Nowhere" does not have a release date yet.