I see that the movie mongals are in the process of making a movie biopic about Carl Perkins called "The Thinking Place." It was to be released in 2009, but as of now, hasn't been started yet. With a 20 to 40 million dollar budget, they should be able to get about any actor to portray Perkins. Altho the movie has the endorsements of greats like McCartney and others, why would this be such an intereseting movie? Granted, he had some hits, wrote some cool songs, and could play a rockabilly guitar, but that sounds like the story of any other of the thousands of musicians out there. His career was basically over by the 70's, and through working with Johnny Cash he was able to hold on a bit longer. I guess I just can't grasp the importance of the man, altho he did play a Fender for a while until moving on to a G&L.

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He was one of the pioneer recording artists that helped put Sun Records on the map.

Maybe one of the first to have crossover hits in the rockabilly genre?

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I can think of Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Charlie Rich, Carl Perkins, Elvis, Billy Riley, and a bucnh of Blues artists on the early Sun label. Theres been biopics about some of them already done. Does everyone need one?

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Life is like a sh*t sandwich. The more bread you have, the less sh*t you have to eat.

Why not? As long as they are using their own money to pay for something that may seem trivial to you, whats the harm? Its not affecting you, plus they have every right to do it....Yes, there may be too many bio-pics, and you may feel there are others that are more deserving, but you never know...People like fake bio-pics like Dewey Cox, Ricky Bobby and they like the real ones too like Walk The Line and Ray...

Did we really need a biopic about Michael Oher? On paper not many would have thought so...including myself, but then The Blindside became a huge success....though personally I have yet to see it, I'm just saying for example that certain bio-pics may seem weird, but people like them, and they can be financially successful for those involved, which is probably part of the reason why they are making the film....

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Can't please everybody, but you can please some.

Actually if done correctly a pic about carl would be better than that of some of his contemporaries.

Musically i think he was more important than jerry lee lewis, yet Great Balls of Fire was a decent picture because of 'The Killer's' personal life.

Carl has a dramatic story too, as well as his hand in shaping Rock and Roll.
He was really in a dead heat with Elvis early ob in their careers. Possibly even a bit ahead, charts-wise. However at a key moment in the growth of rock and roll, Carl was in a serious car accident in which he nearly died.

While recovering he missed some key TV appearances, while Elvis got them. That exposure was considered vital in his development as the first 'Superstar." Who's to say what might have been for carl, if not for that incident.

A lot of performers from that era have compelling stories. he is one of them.

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Twelvebar speaks the truth.

I would be first in line to see this movie.

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Obligatory gear list: Fender, Rickenbacker, Gibson, Gretsch, Vox, Martin, and more Fender.

IMHO I like Carl Perkins stuff.
I have a bit of his music on disc.
Not sure about a movie, but sure whatever.-N

+1 on twelvebar's assessment regarding the car wreck--he might have been much bigger if he hadn't had to recover from that incident; he also had a couple of fingers with severe nerve damage (I can't remember if it was from the car accident or another accident) and had to re-learn how to play.

Also, he grew up dirt-poor--his parents were sharecroppers--and he learned a lot of his early licks from an Afro-American sharecropper; he also accidentally stumbled upon his own particular style of bending notes (due to the fact he couldn't afford to replace guitar strings so he would tie them together when they broke; he would bend rather than move up the neck to where a string knot would interfere with fretting). He had severe bouts with the bottle--and beat it!

The Beatles--George and Paul specifically--were greatly influenced by him.

Later, he quit the road in order to be with his family, which adds another "character wrinkle" to his story.

...all of those little details are the stuff that Hollywood screenwriters dream of (see Ray, Walk the Line, etc.)

...plus, he wore a heck of a toupee!

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Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals

Although he may not have created the groundswell of popularity that Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly acheived at the time,Carl Perkins was a seminal part of the insurgence of Rock and Roll.His contribution to the genre hasn't been given the acknowledgement it deserves, although many may not realize it but some of the very riffs they use today originated from the talented hands and mind of Carl Perkins.If anyone deserves to be the topic of a biopic it's Carl Perkins.

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I'll be all over it. I cant wait. BTW, Elvis' career was all over by the 70's, too.

Musical biopics from that era great. I didnt see the last one, Empire Records, or whatever it was called, because it was used a device to deliver political correctness messages. I hope this isn't done with Perkin's movie.

I'm sure they'll cover Perkin's encounters with Presley, Cash and Jerry Lee.

Please, God, dont let Megan Fox be in it.

+100 I agree he was very influencial.

I just hope Hollywood doesn't make his story into a steaming pile.
They have a tendancy to ruin a good biography.

-N

I assume you meant Cadillac Records, not Empire Records. Two VERY different movies.

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Obligatory gear list: Fender, Rickenbacker, Gibson, Gretsch, Vox, Martin, and more Fender.

In the George Harrison autobiography that I read, it goes on to talk about George's association with Carl Perkins. It influenced a few songs that George wrote and that The Beatles covered (Matchbox, Everyone's Tryin' To Be My Baby, Nothin' Shakin' but the Leaves on The Tree, I Don't Want to Spoil The Party So I'll Go, Honey Don't, etc.)

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Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

Yeah, Cadillac Records. Thank you, Metropolis.