British actor Alan Rickman, will be portraying Hilly Kristal in a new biopic about the famed club owner of Manhattan’s mega music venue CBGB.
CBGB closed down in 2006 over rent disputes, and sadly Kristal passed away in 2007. Kristal originally founded CBGB in 1973. It was to be a venue for Country, Bluegrass, and Blues variety music, but he started booking punk and New Wave bands when whatever he wanted was not available to book. Three big name examples are The Ramones, Blondie, and The Misfits.
The movie will be produced and directed by Jody Savin and Randall Miller, and Kristal’s daughter, Lisa Kristal Burgman, will be co-producer. Shooting will begin next month.
Recently it was announced that CBGB will turn into a New York summer festival, and they plan on bringing 300 bands to 30 different venues across the city from July 5-8.
Who else is excited to see this film?
