Ridley Scottwill soon be down with “Night Fever.” AtCinemaConin 2024, it was announced that the legendaryGladiatordirector would behelming a biopic about brothersBarry,Robin, andMaurice Gibband their groovy rise to disco stardom in the 1970s as theBee Gees. However, things haven’t been so smooth since then, with Scott placing the project on the back burner in favor ofThe Dog Starsamid a budgetary contract dispute with Paramount thatnearly prompted him to walk away altogether. The film appears to be back on track, though, and during a conversation with Collider’sSteve Weintraubcelebrating the 20th anniversary 4K Ultra HD release of his 2005 classic,Kingdom of Heaven, Scott opened up about when the flick should be dancing into production.
Scott isa famously fast-working directorcapable of getting multiple films produced in a year. When asked if he was shooting anything afterThe Dog Stars,which was recently filming in Italy, he confirmed that the Bee Gees were next on his list towards the end of 2025.“I am… the Bee Gees in November,“he said. Regarding whether Paramount would be backing it, the director continued,“I think so. That’s what I dare say.“In the long term, his dispute with the studio doesn’t appear to have affected the project that much, other than pushing it back a bit further than expected.
The Bee Gees will be new ground for Scott, who has largely steered clear ofthe music biopic space. The trio has an interesting story to tell, though, from their formation in 1958 and ascent to stardom before becoming the faces of disco after creating the soundtrack forJohn Travolta’s breakout hitSaturday Night Feverin 1978. They’ve crafted some of the era’s defining tracks, like “Stayin' Alive,” “More Than a Woman,” “You Should Be Dancing,” and “Night Fever,” among many others. However, Scott plans to dig deeper than their careers and willexplore the brothers as a creative unit and a family, “from eight years old to the end.” Their relationship and how their individual skills drove them to collective success will be at the heart of the feature, as he explains:
“It’s really about the brothers and how close the brothers were as a gifted family. They’re really very much a family. I think Barry very much was the leader of them, but then Robin also hadthevoice initially and was also a very good writer. They were a fulfilled team. It is lovely to see this drawn out from scratch. We’ll go from eight years old to the end.”
Ridley Scott Already Has Some Names in Mind to Play the Bee Gees
The lone surviving member of the trio, Barry Gibbs, will serve as an executive producer on Scott’s yet-untitled film, withGraham King,Stacey Snider, andMichael Prussjoining the director as producers. While the rest of his team is assembled, a cast has yet to be set in stone. That’s not for a lack of consideration, though, as Scott confirmed that he has a few names in mind to play the three brothers. “I’ve already got my footprints and handprints,orrequestsis a better way of putting it, on those names,” he teased. “And no, I can’t say who they are.” These announcements might not be far away, considering the quick turnaround between projects.
What Is ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ About?
Ahead of preparations for his Bee Gees film, Scott finally got the chance toshare his original vision ofKingdom of Heavenon the big screen in commemoration of its 20th anniversary. The historical epic isnow available in 4K with a new steelbook releasegiving the director’s cut forty-five minutes of additional footage which takes the movie from being unremarkable, to a modern masterpiece.
Setduring the Crusadesin the 12th century, it starsOrlando Bloomas Balian of Ibelin, a grieving blacksmith who, while recovering from the loss of his wife, joins his estranged father, Godfrey (Liam Neeson), as a crusader on his way to Jerusalem. Upon completing the treacherous trek, he finds himself in the middle of a contentious power struggle in the holy city underKing Baldwin IV (Edward Norton). His journey ultimately teaches him what it means to be a knight and positions him at the front line of the defense of Jerusalem and its people. The director’s cut is an incredible movie and worth seeking out.
Stay tuned here at Collider for more on the Bee Gees biopic,The Dog Stars, and everything else Scott has coming down the pipeline.
Kingdom of Heaven
