Buddy Holly Biopic Finds Its Director

The upcoming Buddy Holly biopic, titled Clear Lake, has just found its director.

The chosen one is Bruce Beresford, who has been nominated in the Academy Awards for his work on the films Breaker Morant (1980) and Tender Mercies (1983). He is also the mind behind movies like Crimes of the Heart (1986), Driving Miss Daisy (1989), and Double Jeopardy (1999).

In an interview with Variety, Beresford shared his fascination with the rocker’s life. “I found myself attracted to Clear Lake because the script tells the tragic story of Buddy Holly and his era in fascinating detail and with vivid characterizations,” he said. “Needless to say, the added plus of all the wonderful music was also a major lure.”

Clear Lake will tackle multiple facets of the rock and roll icon’s life, which entails his starting years, claim to fame, and how he pioneered to break racial stereotypes and barriers in music. The film will focus on Holly’s 1958 tour named Biggest Show of Stars, where he played alongside Little Anthony and the Imperial’s co-founder Clarence Collins, while also giving importance to the tragic plane crash that took his life – known as “the day the music died.”

The film is made possible with the cooperation of Holly’s widow, Maria Elena Holly, and the Holly Estate. Producer Stuart Benjamin is also part of the project – who is a veteran when it comes to musical biopics like Ray Charles’ Ray and Ritchie Valens’ La Bamba.

Holly’s Clear Lake biopic was originally announced in 2018, and The Hollywood Reporter revealed that the virtual casting for the movie has already commenced, the production to take place in late 2020, waiting on further pandemic restrictions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R8rl5I9XOs