When Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger collaborated on the Rolling Stones documentary “Shine A Light,” they conceived an idea for a “Casino”-like movie set in the music biz of the 1970s. That was in 2010. Then in 2011 Scorsese and Jagger took the idea to HBO and brought on “Boardwalk Empire” writer Terence Winter to help develop the idea. Two years later and it finally looks like the project is ready to move forward with a lead actor.
Deadline is reporting that Scorsese and Winter are looking to their “Boardwalk Empire” star Bobby Cannavale (aka Gyp Rosetti) to headline the untitled music biz drama. Cannavale will play Richie, “a cocaine-fueled record exec in NYC circa 1977, when punk, disco and a new form of music called hip-hop collided. Richie is a talented A&R guy who is elevated to run a big label, even though he thinks he’s better suited to focusing on day-to-day music matters.”
Jagger, Scorsese and Winter will serve as executive producers on the series, with Scorsese to direct the pilot in early 2014 before lensing “Silence.” Since Winter is still heavily involved in “Boardwalk Empire”, they’ll soon be looking for a team of writers to work on the new show. Scorsese is currently working on post-production for “The Wolf of Wall Street” which will hit theaters on November 15th.