Bruce Springsteen is said to be in talks to bring his 1982 landmark album Nebraska to the big screen.
Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band at the British Summertime concert, Hyde Park, London, July 2023.
In an exclusive, Roger Freidman at Showbiz 411 reported that Springsteen is acting as a consultant on a project that includes director Scott Cooper. Cooper, best known for 2009's Crazy Heart, for which Jeff Bridges won the Oscar for Best Actor, has apparently been talking with the legendary icon about a feature-length film that would be based on the album. World of Reel is speculating that the storyline, conceivably written by Cooper, could also be an adaptation of Warren Zanes' 2023 Springsteen memoir Deliver Me From Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska.
Deliver Me From Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska - Warren Zanes.
Nebraska was a Springsteen outlier. He had come off the 1980 double LP The River, itself a turning point in how Springsteen turned down the anthemic volume and turned inward for something else, something Springsteen had been stealthily showcasing, lurking around corners with unsaid uneasiness since 1973's Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ.
Going it alone, he rented a ranch house in Colts Neck, NJ, watched late-night television and discovered Terrence Malick’s Badlands. He grasped onto that vision, sat on the end of his bed and recorded everything onto a cassette. The songs he produced -- "Atlantic City," "State Trooper," "Used Cars" -- were among the darkest of his career. One highlight, "Highway Patrolman," was subsequently covered by Johnny Cash, and used by Sean Penn as the inspiration for his directorial debut, The Indian Runner.
Badlands - The First Four Minutes
While he returned to the studio with the E Street Band to start sessions for The River's follow-up, Springsteen nonetheless had faith in these demos, opting against expanding the songs into full-band arrangements. Going against the tide, he and manager Jon Landau secured the album's release in October 1982 and it eventually went onto Platinum status in the U.S.
As far as casting of the film, if in fact there is a role as 'Bruce Springsteen,' rampant rumors touched on a few names. Austin Butler, who played Elvis in the film of the same name was thrown out — for obvious reasons. Timothee Chalamet was another name mentioned, however, he is taking on the role of another legendary musician — Bob Dylan — for an upcoming biopic.
2023 was a rollercoaster year for Springsteen. After a bombastic start to his world tour in February, he and the band were forced to cancel the tour in September when the musician was diagnosed with peptic ulcers. All of the remaining dates have been rescheduled for 2024, with several more added.
