John C. Reilly's poignant performance of "Mr. Cellophane" in "Chicago," for which he earned a best supporting actor Oscar nomination, may have come as a surprise to moviegoers whose only previous exposure to his musical talent was "Feel the Heat," the '80s rocker he belted out in ironic splendor with "Boogie Nights" costar Mark Wahlberg five years earlier.
But writer-producers Jake Kasdan ("Zero Effect") and Judd Apatow ("The 40 Year-Old Virgin") have created a starring vehicle for Reilly that will take full advantage of both of these approaches to his prodigious musical talent: "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story," a comedic take on tortured musician biopics. The three filmmakers and a variety of musical talents are in the studio recording 15 songs for the project.
"It's a parody of the genre," says Kasdan, who cites "Ray," "Great Balls of Fire" and, uh, "Selena" as inspirational touchstones. "The character is an amalgamation of a lot of different guys, but the movie is playing on the conventions of 'great-man' movies and biopics in general."
Kasdan and Apatow's screenplay tracks the tumultuous life and five-decade career of early rock 'n' roll star Dewey Cox, who bursts onto the scene during the Buddy Holly era. The film will emphasize the '50s, '60s and '70s, but Reilly will play the character from age 13 into his 60s -- an artist ravaged by a life lived (and walked) so hard he makes Sid Vicious seem like Haylie Duff.
"The movie charts the character's rise and fall and rise and fall that happens many, many times," says Kasdan, who is also directing the film. "He's addicted to pretty much everything you could possibly get addicted to, in and out of rehab, many, many children, and several wives.... It's an American epic."
After writing song titles and lyric fragments into the screenplay, Kasdan and Apatow reached out to musicians they admired who could use the script cues for songwriting inspiration. The brainstorming has resulted in songs like Cox's first huge hit, "Walk Hard"; a tune from his "dangerous period" called "Guilty as Charged" and songs from a protest album he turns out during his socially conscious political phase named "These Are My Issues."
Marshall Crenshaw penned the title song, and indie singer-songwriters Dan Bern, Charlie Wadhams and Candy Butchers co-founder Mike Viola are contributing material. The filmmakers have also recruited Van Dyke Parks, a legendary composer and producer who wrote lyrics for Brian Wilson, produced early Randy Newman and Ry Cooder records, and composed the feature soundtracks for "Goin' South" and "The Two Jakes," to write a musical sequence.
