Elizabeth Banks and Paul Giamatti will be “Surfin’ USA” alongside John Cusack and Paul Dano in the Brian Wilson biopic Love & Mercy. The Hunger Games actress and Amazing Spider-Man 2 stars are set to star in Love & Mercy, which will document Wilson, played by Cusack and Dano, as he grapples with mental illness throughout the decades of his acclaimed music career as the rockin’ Beach Boys front-man.
On top of showcasing Wilson’s superb raw talent as a musician, the Bill Pohlad-directed and -produced film emphasizes the people in his life that helped guide him along the way. Banks is slated to take on the role of Wilson’s wife, Melinda, and Giamatti will portray Dr. Eugene Landy, Wilson’s therapist.
Wilson first met his wife when he and his band performed at Hollywood nightclub Pandora’s Box in October 1962. After clumsily spilling a drink all over Marilyn, the couple started dating despite their apparent age gap– she was 14 and a high school student, while he was a 20-year-old performer. scandalous!
Marilyn hired Dr. Eugene Landy to treat her husband in 1975. Dr. Landy’s unorthodox 24-hour therapy regime was and is considered highly controversial. Although Landy triumphed in limiting Wilson’s abusive drug habits and successfully rejuvenated the musician’s look and health, the doc (who earned the brand “Doctor Feelgood”) was fired by The Beach Boys for allegedly brainwashing, isolating, and drugging his patient.
Biopics documenting legendary and impactful men are all the trend right now: first Ashton Kutcher will tackle the role of Apple Inc. genius Steve Jobs in the film Jobs, and next up Paul Dano and John Cusack will star as Wilson when production for Love & Mercy written by Oren Moverman begins in August.
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