Robert Pattinson and James Franco Face Off for Jeff Buckley Biopic Role
Hold onto your hats, people; it’s an old-fashioned Hollywood casting showdown!
BlackBook reports that Twilight heartthrob Robert Pattinson and Milk hunk James Franco are both in contention for the lead role in an upcoming biopic about the tragic life of singer Jeff Buckley.
Buckley, the son of musician Tim Buckley—who died at the age of 28 from a drug and alcohol overdose—passed away from an apparent accidental drowning in May 1997. He was just 30.
Time will tell who will eventually land the role. On one hand, RPattz has already proven that he has the singing chops. On the other hand, Franco seems to be on a biopic roll, what with the award-winning Milk and his upcoming turn as beat poet Allen Ginsberg.
Have your say in the comments section: Who do you think should land the role of Jeff Buckley?
To aid you in your decision, here’s a video of Buckley performing “Last Goodbye”:






















Franco’s a ringer!!!
Franco can show emotion, and just looks like buckley, i don’t think there is a competition. Robert Pattinsons days in hollywood will expire once the twilight fans go through puberty.
Just to let you know, I like Twilight (but I’m not one of those freaky fangirls you see everywhere *shudders* even though I like the series, I don’t like it THAT much) and I’ve gone through puberty. Just saying.
I will kill someone if Robert Pattinson gets this role. Personally, though I love James Franco, I don’t want him to get it either. I think it would be best for someone who isn’t a “hunk” or a “heartthrob” in hollywood, to land this role. I think an unknown should play him, not someone necessarily with no experience, but definitely an indie actor. And Robert is a DREADFUL singer, not to mention just awful as Edward. But everyone in the Twilight movie has no idea how to act.
hm. i like robert pattinson but i think james franco would be better for this role. plus if the person were to sing, i dont think robert’s voice would match up with jeff buckley’s anyways:
To Hannah, blind, deaf and dumb – what a way to go through life. I think someone should have musical talent to play Buckley. Pattinson could definitely pull it off.
you’re kidding right? you’ve insinuated that you think the acting in twilight is good. maybe you should have another look? or watch better movies for that matter…
Gotta give the advantage to Franco on this one. Not only is the resemblance eerie, but he’s much closer to Buckley’s age at the time of his passing.
Robert Pattinson, hands down. He can do this musically and and physically.
I guess we’ve only go a few Twitards responding so far? I agree with Hannah, I can’t stand Pattinson’s voice either. Franco’s a better actor, too. Here’s my beef, boys and girls – this is TOO SOON. Let Buckley RIP for at least another decade or two before Hollywood makes money off of him, I beg you.
Obvious James Franco…he looks just like him. And it doesnt matter if he can sing or not, its like they are going to use whoever the actor that gets the roles real singing voice. I like Rob and he’s a good actor but I think Franco would be the better choice.
i’m a huge rob fan, but i think james franco deserves this role more.
if rpatz gets this i will move to siberia and kill myself….no one should ever try to play jeff buckley!!!! he was the ultimate hottie and talented musician of all time. please don’t let this be true
I am a rob pattinson fan but james franco looks like jeff buckley and i think fans wouldnt like a british person to play him
Franco has the look, but Robert has the voice. Maybe Franco should get the role and they use R.Pat’s voice…unless Franco has the voice too, cause I’ve never heard him sing.
Wow people!!! Rob is both an excellent musician and a great singer, far better than the performance I saw above. Could he handle the role? I have no doubt. Should he? I wonder. I agree that it really isn’t a story that needs to be told any time soon. What’s next, we wait a year for a Heath Ledger movie?!! Hollywood is just running out of stories to tell and re-tell apparently.
ummmm MIller…do you even know who jeff buckley is??? yeah, that was a sh*tty clip, but do yourself a favor and buy his album…obviously you know nothing about him. how ’bout hollywoods remakes of old tv shows and movies?? thats really bad. rob is the worst actor EVER>>>Twilight was a comedy right?
James Franco of course! He´s perfect!
I just want to have sex with Rob, that’s all I’m asking for! I don’t care who gets the role!!
[quote=Miller] What’s next, we wait a year for a Heath Ledger movie?!! Hollywood is just running out of stories to tell and re-tell apparently.[/quote]
Interesting you should say that, because looking at pictures of Jeff I can kinda see Heath Ledger being able to pull off the role.
James Franco definitely resembles Jeff Buckley, but Robert Pattinson has the voice; not a great voice, but a decent one. His voice could be better if he mumbled less and pronounce each word clearly.
I think RPattz should portray . Not only is he gorgeous but he is a musician himself and could definitely relate to
Buckleys weaknesses.
Rpatz=horrible actor
they both can act. but I mean I think James looks alot more like Jeff the Rob does…not that that means much, I guess it would just be more believeable. On the other hand Rob has a hord of teenage fans that will just go see the movie because he is in it which in return will make it a hit…whether it is good or not.
[quote=Jimmy Jim]Franco can show emotion, and just looks like buckley, i don’t think there is a competition. Robert Pattinsons days in hollywood will expire once the twilight fans go through puberty.[/quote]
I went through puberty 25 years ago and I think since Jeff Buckley is one of Rob’s favorite artists and Rob can sing his ass off he should and will get the part.
And if Rob doesn’t get the part it will be because his hair is just too freakin beautiful & full to play the part of JB who had thinning hair & receding hairline
[quote=ladyaries]
I went through puberty 25 years ago /quote]
WOW, at age 3, that has to be a record! o_o
& Go, James.
neither. You can’t sum up Jeff Buckley’s life and music into a 2 or even 3 hour film. This is ridiculous and a money making deal on his Mother’s behalf. Jeff wasn’t the type of person to want that sort of attention, because he knew it would lure away from what he was really all about and that was the music. This will just lure people to become fans for all the wrong reasons….
I feel bad for the friends of Buckley who have to watch this all fall apart, it’s bad enough they lost him once doing this will just make them feel like they’ve lost him twice. so f*ck Mary.
[quote=ladyaries]And if Rob doesn’t get the part it will be because his hair is just too freakin beautiful & full to play the part of JB who had thinning hair & receding hairline[/quote]
You’ve got to be kidding right?
Jeff Buckley was an amazingly talent, brilliant musician. Yes, he was gorgeous, but his looks are not important, his music and his story is. Rob Pattinson is some untalented ‘actor’ that has millions of teens obsessing over. That is NOT the movie that should be made. Personally, any movie wouldn’t be able to do Jeff Buckley justice, but seriously? Rob Pattinson. Please, NO!
James Franco, on the other hand, I can see. Like I said, a movie probably shouldn’t be made, at least not yet. But if it must, James Franco will do it best. He’s very talented and has a stricking resemblence to jeff.
I can just see it now if Pattinson gets the role, millions of fan girls going just to see HIM. That is not what Jeff would of wanted. Twilight girls can just stop.
James Franco looks more like him, even tho he screwed up the biopic of James Dean. but i dont think this would be the right role for Rob
Rob Patinson to play Jeff Buckley : euh this is a joke ???
Tell me please it is just a freaking joke like that i can laugh very hard.
The awesome Jeff Buckley can’t be played by anyone, he is unique ok !!
But studios want to make money with using his icone status…it’s just disgusting..
Anyway James Franco at least has a slight physical ressemblance with the angel Jeff, but that’s all.
An unknown actor would be the less worst choice but i am against a movie so…
This idea is pathetic, Jeff must be turning in his grave, jesus !
I’m a big fan of both but seriously I think james franco would do a better performance than rob…
1.- Rob’s voice is good in it’s own way and style, but still needs some classes, but no matter how great a musician and songwriter he can be he has no actual experience like james, I mean rob is a very talented actor too but there’s something that is not in there… still
2.- James has almost all… the looks, the professionalism,the experience, the acting methods, the very unique way to show his emotions, I mean the man can play any role I does it really really good, about the voice maybe he doesn’t have buckley’s voice that’s for sure, but i’ve heard him sing like in bloopers and stuff and he’s voice is ok and with some good training wonders can happen, just like the case of joaquin phoenix or reese witherspoon in walk the line I mean they have regular voices but the training they did to get into the characters was so good that look at the great voices and performances they did on the movie, I mean flawless!!!
So I would go for james franco…
errm…jeff wasn’t buried, ya know.
Buckley looks like James Franco and James Franco has proven his acting chops already with award winning milk plus s=he is better looking than RPAttz.Franco should get the role.
[quote=mandyrocks]errm…jeff wasn’t buried, ya know.[/quote]
Did somebody say he was? Tell me who, and I will KICK THEIR ASS!!!!
what the fuk dudes who cares if he can sing or show emoton. this isnt about jeff its about bob and yes i can call him bob since i MET HIM and hes way hotter.
and that song sucks it doesnt even have a beat
I’m an RPatz fan but I have to give this one to Franco… he’s a dead ringer .
[quote=Madison Emerald]what the fuk dudes who cares if he can sing or show emoton. this isnt about jeff its about bob and yes i can call him bob since i MET HIM and hes way hotter.
and that song sucks it doesnt even have a beat[/quote]
This isn’t about Jeff? Uh, it seems that the ENTIRE MOVIE will be about Jeff. And spare us about how you call Pattinson “Bob” because you met him once; no one cares about your Tales From the Glory Hole…
I WILL WANT TO DIE IF ROBERT GETS THE ROLE. I liked him in Goblet of Fire but if he gets this role, all this little 11 year olds will make a joke out of Jeff. Jeff Buckley is extraordinary.
ur a retard snob. you think ur music is better than other peoples just becuase ur a stupid CONFORMIST. let me guess you like radio head too because their so sopheeeeesto-cated *drags on long cigarrete filter and brushes dirt off fur coat*
even if the entire movie is about jeff nobody will care everyone ecsept you and ur friends will be busy apprecaiting the TRUE MEANING of the movie which is BOB and his GORGOUS LOOKS.
ha loser have to call him by his last name kuz you never met him rtard
Really, Madison Emerald? You’re a troll right? Just here to stir the pot? You have to be. No one in their right mind would call Jeff Buckley a conformist. Your comments are just odd.
I just finished watching the hack-job of a movie they call “Twilight.” I wish I would have just stuck with the book. Robert Pattinson, while I really wanted to like him, is a crappy actor. Most people in that movie were. It was like watching a high school theater production.
James Franco looks so much like Jeff Buckley and can act well. Either Franco or some unknown would be my vote.
are you kidding me? this is a movie that makes no sense to be made. the vast majority of people have no idea who he was (which is ultimately depressing). the only possible benefit of this being made would be to spread the word of his music further than it has already reached. as far as these 2 people for the role? havent ever seen pattinson act, but his appearance screams douchebag, franco can act, and doesnt appear to be a giant tool. as far as people making the argument for who has the voice to do it… youre out of your mind if you think anyone on earth could replicate his singing and emotional intensity, his talent was out of this world.
bk, et. al.:
dude. James Franco could pull off musical talent far better than Robert Pattinson will ever be able to pull off acting.
[quote=Jimmy Jim]Franco can show emotion, and just looks like buckley, i don’t think there is a competition. Robert Pattinsons days in hollywood will expire once the twilight fans go through puberty.[/quote]
I Like Twilight but i really freaking agree with this. 100 %
f u ducky ur smoking pot. i dont know if jeff is a conformist i don’t really like him that much but his fans totally are because they read about him and think hes really profound like NPR or something. lisen to some real music troll buttwipe. halleluja sucks.
[quote=Jimmy Jim]Franco can show emotion, and just looks like buckley, i don’t think there is a competition. Robert Pattinsons days in hollywood will expire once the twilight fans go through puberty.[/quote]
I am a Twilight fan but I totally freaking agree with this. Rpattz cant really act, to be quite honest, and those who say he was great in Twilight are delusional. He is a horrid actor and the fact that he is attractive is the only reason people want him in movie roles. Franco better win this.
for the love of all the saints…someone stop this insanity of casting Pattinson in this role, Ok Hollywood we get it..he’s a good looking guy..but his acting credits is a joke…Before Twilight he did maybe 2 movies….And does anyone in their right mind really think his acting in Twilight was above laughable….? If James Franco or another actor with acting chops doesn’t get this role..and Pattinson gets it…that is indeed a sign of how Hollywood caters to tweens. Talent does not matter just a chiseled face.
This is all wrong. This would be like covering Ledgers death. I think that some of the songs Pattinson did in T-light were Buckley-esque, which may be why this idea even came up, but the boy does not annunciate. I’m conflicted. I would watch it, not matter who does it, but it just feels wrong,
well ok heres the thing, i’m in the movie business myself producers look for someone with talent who can play the role but they also want to make a lot of money, no doubt on that one. James Franco bares an uncanny resemblance to Jeff Buckley he could pull it off easily. But with Robert Pattinson’s fan base that spells $$$$$$$$$$$$ however Robert Pattison will have to prove that he is more than just a tween sensation. It won’t be hard to make Pattinson look like Jeff with the talent of makeup artists and stylist, if any of you have any doubts on this take for instance how much James Franco looked liked James dean in his portrail of the mega star, they have different colouring yet the likeness had me godsmacked and i felt like i was actually watching the real James Dean himself, James Franco is an excellent actor. As for musical training i am pretty sure that can be learned and won’t be too much of a problem for both actors. Now James Franco has a good resume it is good to have these kind of actors working for you his career keeps growing. However we don’t know where Robert Pattinson will be in the next ten years, maybe he will fade away, maybe not. To stay on top in this business you have to sell, unfortunetly it is true. Its not so hard to become a best seller as it is to maintain this success throughout your entire career. it does go up and down too. If you asked me to choose i would take the risk with Robert Pattinson this business is not about playing it safe. i also like the way Rob comes across in interviews when he is promoting movies. He is animated and entertaining and funny. But now i want to know your thoughts. Who do you think will make this movie big? James or Robert? reply back.
Franco all the way, I have a Jeff Buckley album and the picture of him on the front looks EXACTLY like James Franco. Plus Pattinson isn’t that great of an actor, so he’d probably ruin it.
in reply to your question guest 1, I say Franco. tween girls did not show up at the box off for Pattinson as Dali and they won’t show up for this bio either. So no money will be made by casting him in it. The movie will be a fail because it is evident Hollywood producers only casted him for his tween status and his name is hot on internet search engines. tweens only want to see him doing schloppy twilight films…watch all the future movies he is being optioned for, they will flop because he is not a string actor. if he weren’t good looking his acting would be considered nothing special at all.
[quote=beckah]I just want to have sex with Rob, that’s all I’m asking for! I don’t care who gets the role!![/quote]
tell me about it..i want him too..just for one night…thats all i want…