Last month, following the passing of author and noted recluse J.D. Salinger, it was announced that Shane Salerno (writer of “Armageddon,” “Shaft,” “Alien vs. Predator: Requiem”) had a documentary already in the can about the writer based on the book “Salinger: A Biography” by Paul Alexander. ‘Salinger’ was a massive undertaking, but got the participation of heavyweights like Philip Seymour Hoffman, Edward Norton, John Cusack, Danny DeVito, John Guare, Martin Sheen, David Milch, Robert Towne, Tom Wolfe, E.L. Doctorow, A. Scott Berg, Elizabeth Frank and Gore Vidal. Salerno even grabbed Ken Burns’ cinematographer Buddy Squires to lens the picture, and so much information was amassed that a 700-page companion book is in the works.
In a recent interview with Paste, former Heart Attack and D Generation member, and current rocker and Ryan Adams best bud Jesse Malin has revealed that he has written five new songs for the upcoming documentary. According to Malin, Salerno approached him back in 2007 to contribute music to the documentary and sent him “biographies, Xeroxes, printouts and books” about the author. Malin grew inspired saying, “Suddenly I found myself rereading ‘Catcher in the Rye’;. Salinger was one of the original punk-rock writers,” Malin says. “Fuck ‘Clockwork Orange’ or ‘Taxi Driver’; Holden Caulfield was an outsider all the way.” The result of this newly found enthusiasm were five songs that will be featured in the upcoming film.
But when will we see the film? There are no firm release dates yet, and as far as we know, no studio big or small has picked up the film. We can certainly imagine that given how protective Salinger was of his privacy and works during his life, that his estate will be just as vigilant in maintaining his legacy. We would wager that unless the film receives the blessing of his estate, it will be a long time before this hit screens.