INCOMING: Ziggy Played Guitar

Johnny Flynn in Stardust photo by Paul Van Carter

PITCHFORK: The first picture of Johnny Flynn in Stardust is here. Check out the shot, taken by Paul Van Carter, above. The forthcoming, unauthorized film—which producers insist is “not a biopic”—depicts David Bowie’s life and transformation into Ziggy Stardust in the early 1970s, as he embarks on a road trip to America. MORE

PREVIOUSLY: Stardust, an upcoming film about David Bowie, has cast its leading man, as Deadline and Screen International note. The role will be played by actor-musician Johnny Flynn, and he will be accompanied by Marc Maron—portraying Bowie’s publicist—and Jena Malone (The Hunger Games) as Bowie’s first wife, Angie. The film will explore Bowie’s first trip to America in the early ’70s and the genesis of his Ziggy Stardust persona. Bowie’s son, Duncan Jones, tweeted that the film does not have the family’s blessing. According to Screen International, the soundtrack will include various Bowie performances, though Jones says that is not the case. The film will be written by Christopher Bell (The Last Czars) and directed by Gabriel Range (I Am Slave). According to Deadline, principal photography begins this June. MORE