Director Julien Temple, best known for his Sex Pistols documentary “The Filth & the Fury,” is working on a new movie about the life and career of the late Joe Strummer. Via a slew of archival audio and video footage, interviews donated by journalists and recordings of Strummer’s BBC Radio show, the Clash legend will essentially narrate the film.
Now in the very early stages of production, the project plans to incorpoate new interviews with members of the Clash as well as members of Strummer’s pre- and post-Clash bands, the 101ers and the Mescaleros, respectively.
Temple was a longtime friend of Strummer, whom he first met during the 101ers years. He’s making the film with the blessing of Strummer’s widow, Lucinda.
“We didn’t have a memorial concert or anything for him,” Temple tells Billboard.com. “So this is something that I wanted to do. Three years on, it’s easier for me and all the people involved to deal with it actually.”
Strummer died of a congenital heart defect in December 2002, just three months before the Clash was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The following year, his third album with the Mescaleros was posthumously released.
Strummer’s honesty is what makes him a great film subject, according to Temple. “He was very connected to other human beings, and he never lost that in the way some stars do,” he says. “He believed that music could change people’s lives, and he proved that in a way that most people don’t get near. He touched all types of people all over the world, and that came from his honesty and his warmth.”
North American journalists and filmmakers with audio or video footage of Strummer are being encouraged to contribute their recordings to the project. To do so, email Sam Dwyer at sam.dwyer@virgin.net.
