KISS takes the stage in the first exclusive clip to emerge from hotly anticipated musical biopic “Spinning Gold.”
The long-gestating movie about Casablanca Records founder Neil Bogart — directed by his son Tim Bogart and now in post-production — has finally landed, and is being screened to buyers at the Cannes Film Festival market this week.
Founded in 1974 by Neil Bogart, Casablanca Records was the home to KISS, Donna Summer, the Village People and Parliament Funkadelic, among others. The company contributed the first smash extended single to clubs and radio stations all over the world with Summer’s 17-minute 1975 banger “Love to Love You,” and released 289 albums from more than 140 artists.
“Spinning Gold” was first conceived in 1990 and has weathered many drafts, multiple castings (Justin Timberlake was at one point attached to the movie) and a decades-long search for the right director.
Said Tim Bogart of the project: “Born Neil Bogatz in the Brooklyn projects where he plotted his dreams and schemes to escape from poverty, Neil Bogart was my father — and it’s taken me over twenty years to finally tell his story.
“And I know people say that all the time, but the first option on the film really was back in 1999. From there, through obstacles nearly as challenging as what my father faced in bringing Casablanca Records to the world, the obstacles in bringing this film to light were just as daunting.”
The film’s cast includes Wiz Khalifa (“Dickinson”), Tayla Parx (“Bones”), Ledisi (“Selma”), Lyndsy Fonseca (“Kick-Ass”), Jeremy Jordan (“The Flash”), Jay Pharoah (“SNL”), Michelle Monaghan (“Gone Baby Gone”), Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter franchise), Jason Derulo (“Cats”), Sebastian Maniscalco (“The Irishman”), Dan Fogler (Fantastic Beasts franchise), Chris Redd (“SNL”), Peyton List (“The Tomorrow People”), Casey Likes (“Everything Must Go”), Jimmy Wolk (“Mad Med”), Michael Ian Black (“Stella”) and Vinnie Pastore (“The Sopranos”).
Capstone is handling international sales, while Capstone and CAA Media Finance are co-repping U.S. sales.
The film’s market debut will be celebrated on Thursday night at a hot-ticket beach party that promises to transform the Croisette into Studio 54 for one night. Parx, who stars as Donna Summer and Ledisi, who plays Gladys Knight, will perform the hit songs of their onscreen characters, alongside Jeremy Jordan, who plays Neil Bogart.
Watch an exclusive clip from “Spinning Gold” below:
