Joni Mitchell nixed biopic - Taylor Swift was cast as the singer

In 2012, a movie was being developed to portray Joni Mitchell, Carol King, and Carly Simon. However, Joni basically stopped the film:

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/n...e-nixed-taylor-swift-starring-biopic-20141125

 

I have a super cheap mass market paperbound version of the book in my stack since Borders bellied up.I keep thinking that there's problems between those pages.But the idea of Taylor Swift portraying Joni Mitchell is like Adam Sandler subbing for DeNiro to portray Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull.Maybe Lifetime will screw up the subject without use of the book material.There's a Disney Channel full of empty vessels that would make Swift look like Sissy Spacek in comparison.

 

Good for her-they can turn out to be pretty lame. Straight biography with original source film and interviews much better but probably less profitable to creators-hence less interest.

 

Yet ANOTHER reason why I love Joni Mitchell!

 

Tis a pity ..

 

Surprised she green lit the movie adaption in the first place.

Guess we have to wait until her passing for archive releases and a biopic etc...

 

Good for her. Swift would have been completely out of her depth.

 

I never read the book, but evidently from what Mitchell states, much of of it seems superficial gossip...and there's no way she'd ever let something close to that on the big screen. One shudders what some movie exec would consider passable talent to depict Joni.
Is there any actress out there you'd consider worthy?

 

I Agree. I'd rather see the real thing...inimitable.
I liked the doc that had great footage, Woman of Heart and Mind.

 

True - she really is as strong and independent as ever. After being extremely hurt and stung previously by the media, it seems she won't tolerate any misrepresentation anymore if she has any say in the matter.

 

I hope we don't have to wait for a comprehensive archives collection (like her co-patriot, Neil Young's). Hopefully she'll realize the artistic value of her unreleased material...

 

I agree! I have yet to see a Hollywood movie that accurately captures the vibe of rock artists. They are usually over dramatized and corny. The same thing with surfing movies. They just don't get it.

 

I was going to post this here two days ago, but I didn't think people would be interested in reading it.

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Anyway, I agree with her. I like Taylor, but she wouldn't have done a good job in the role. She's a weak vocalist.

 

the really unfortunate part is that the weakest part of swift's vocal range is the upper register that joni visited so much in early years. i am cringing now thinking of the results.
not to bash taylor whom i have great respect for overall.

 

I am glad Joni Mitchell nixed this idea...Only if Taylor Swift was a good actress could this possibly work. Taylor should not be allowed to sing as Joni, but they should use Joni's vocals... Taylor Swift should be quite good at lip syncing.... Taylor Swift can not sing live....

 

Supposedly she is writing her autobiography so maybe that is why she didn't want it coming out before that happens. I really hope it comes through and it's like 1000 pages long. She has lived a very interesting life.

 

I'm surprised Taylor would agree to play a part that would require constantly smoking cigarettes. I have no idea if Taylor Swift smokes or not, but she's famous for trying to set a good example for her fans.

 

There is a God out there after all...

 

Thank goodness.

 

How would Mitchell be able to block the movie? The article isn't clear. Denial of music rights? Or the producers just didn't want to get on her bad side, but could go ahead if they really wanted to?

 

Not such a fan of Taylor's music but acting wise she has promise - was in an episode of CSI and was pretty good.

 

Maybe she Ok'd the movie if she had approval over the lead actress.

 

I would think her problem was more with the source material.

Music movies are made all the time with people who can neither play instruments nor sing. At least Taylor Swift has singing experience. The question is whether she can act? And this again is not something I'm convinced Joni has any ability to judge. Taylor simply hasn't been in enough to form an opinion one way or another.

 

Being that the book was unauthorized from Joni's perspective (and I don't believe Carly gave it her blessings either), I don't see why she would have any say in the casting of the movie version!

 

And besides, I don't think she has a legal leg to stand on with respect to stopping production, unless the producers signed some sort of special deal with her - which, as you indicate, would appear unlikely. I suspect it might be a sync rights issue, although I have no idea whether she controls her publishing.