Shedding his pop star beginnings, Justin Timberlake has been transforming into a Hollywood star the last year. He gave an excellent performance in David Fincher‘s The Social Network, had some fun in Friends with Benefits and Bad Teacher this summer, and will try out action star in Andrew Niccol’s sci-fi flick In Time next month. Deadline reports he will merge his musical past with a new feature in the works.
The actor will portray Neil Bogart, the popular 1970s record producer who first signed KISS and promoted disco acts like The Village People. The feature will be titled Spinning Gold and Timberlake plans to make his first producing effort. The son of the now-deceased producer, Timothy Scott Bogart, has written the script and one can read the synopsis below.
…”tells the rags-to-riches story of Neil Bogart, a dirt-poor Jewish kid from Brooklyn who went on to become a multimillionaire and help define 70′s pop culture with his Casablanca label that launched the careers of such superstars as KISS, Parliament, Donna Summer, and The Village People.
Bogart, who had been developing the project since his father passed away from cancer in 1982 at 39, had high praise for Timberlake. He said, “we needed an young actor who can carry this picture [and] when Justin walked into the room, that was the moment I had been waiting for 29 years.”
The independent film will actually have a “a major studio-size budget” and there is even talks of an album to go along with the release. Could Timberlake get back to songwriting and performing with this one? There is no word if he’ll stick to the producing shoes of Bogart or venture out with this side album in conjunction with the film, but stay tuned for updates.
Producers are currently meeting with directors and hope for a production to kick off in 2012.
What do you think about Timberlake’s upcoming producing and starring project?