Martin Scorsese and Jonah Hill will meet again in a musical biopic for Apple TV + of the group Grateful Dead, thus expanding the type of content focused on the world of music available on Apple TV +.
Martin Scorsese will direct and produce the film, still untitled, while Jonah Hill (with whom he already worked on the film E) will play the leader of the group in addition to participating as a producer through his Strong Baby production company with Matt Dines.
Not much is known about the film's plot. The only thing that seems confirmed is that the script is being written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, the same writing team that wrote the script for American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ Simpson.
The scriptwriters will have access to the original components of the band, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann, who will executive produce alongside Jerry Garcia's daughter, Trixie Garcia. Eric Eisner and Bernie Cahill will also serve as executive producers.
According to sources familiar with this new project, Apple has the rights to use the Dead catalog for the movie, since the band is collaborating in this production.
Grateful Dead formed in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1965 and they quickly became famous for their unique fusion of musical genres spanning folk, bluegrass, gospel, and rock.
The group, whose followers were dubbed Deadheads, came to symbolize the countercultural movement and psychedelia of the time. The band disbanded after the death of Jerry Garcia in 1995.
The film is the fruit of an agreement that Apple signed last year with Sikelia Productions by Martin Scorsese. Before signing that agreement, Apple purchased the rights to Killers Of The Flower Moon, directed by Scorsese and starring Jesse Plemons, Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro.
