The Sundance Film Festival hasn’t even opened its doors and already studios are making acquisitions. Roadside Attractions is the first to lay claim to the U.S. theatrical rights to The Music Never Stopped, reports Deadline.
The film is based on a case-study essay entitled “The Last Hippie,” written by Dr. Oliver Sacks. Those familiar with the careers of both Robin Williams and Robert De Niro may know of another film that was based on case studies performed by Dr. Sacks: Awakenings.
In Jim Kohlberg’s directorial debut The Music Never Stopped, JK Simmons (Juno) stars as a father who is trying to adjust to the cerebral trauma suffered by his estranged son (played by Thumbsucker‘s Lou Taylor Pucci). Still haunted by missed opportunities, things begin to change once a music therapist recommends music and films that resonate with his son. With a love of the counterculture of ’60s rock from the like of The Grateful Dead and Bob Dylan, it helps to repair the emotional bond between father and son.
Roadside Pictures co-president Howard Cohen said in a statement that they “were really moved by such a soulful, true story of a father and son changing their lives through their love of music.” He then added, “and you can’t beat The Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, Beatles, Rolling Stones, Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills & Nash music in this film.”
It will be interesting to see the final soundtrack listing (The Grateful Dead’s “The Music Never Stopped” is a given), as I for one think a strong soundtrack only helps a film’s overall impact. Look at Forrest Gump and Almost Famous and their soundtracks. To this day I can’t think of “Tiny Dancer” and not think of the sequence from Cameron Crowe’s film with members of Stillwater singing in the tour bus.
