Movie Buzz: Martin Scorsese Working on a Jerry Garcia Biopic Starring Jonah Hill as Grateful Dead Icon

In some intriguing Hollywood news regarding bringing the story of Grateful Dead front man Jerry Garcia to the big screen, Variety on Thursday reported that famed director Martin Scorsese is working on a “musical biopic” of the late Garcia, with Jonah Hill in talks to star.

The film reunites Scorsese and Hill, who previously worked together on The Wolf of Wall Street (starring Leonardo DiCaprio).

While official details have yet to be made available, Variety did note the following about the planned biopic:

The still-untitled film is expected to chronicle the band’s formation in the Bay Area as the ’60s psychedelic counterculture movement started to take off. Known for popularizing the jam-band musical style, the Grateful Dead — whose devoted fans call themselves Deadheads — has remained one of the most influential music groups. Along with Garcia, founding members include Bob Weir, Ron McKernan, Phil Lesh and Bill Kreutzmann. Though Garcia died 25 years ago of a heart attack, some surviving members have continued to go on tour.

The upcoming movie comes with the blessing of surviving Grateful Dead members; Weir and Kreutzmann will serve as executive producers with Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart, Trixie Garcia, Bernie Cahill and Eric Eisner. Additional producers include Rick Yorn of LBI Entertainment.

It’s important to remember that Scorsese and the Grateful Dead do have a history; he was executive producer of the six-part documentary series Long Strange Trip, which covered, in great detail, the story of Jerry Garcia, the Grateful Dead and their legacy.

Stay tuned for more about this intriguing news.