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EXCLUSIVE: Producer John Palermo’s Palermo Pictures banner is eyeing a summer start for The Dead Circus, a drama that builds a fictitious storyline into the actual mysterious death of I Fought The Law singer Bobby Fuller. James Marsden, Boardwalk Empire’s Michael Shannon [UPDATE: Shannon's reps said scheduling has knocked him out of the role], Dexter star Michael C. Hall and Oscar winner Melissa Leo are attached. The script is by Adam Davenport and John Kaye, based on Kaye’s novel. Davenport will make his directing debut on the film.
Fuller’s song became a hit in 1966, but a week after, the 23-year-old singer was found dead. It was ruled a suicide even though his body was battered, with gasoline poured down his throat. In the drama, a grieving screenwriter (still to be cast) plunges into a crusade to solve the mystery of Fuller’s death. Leo will play a Manson Family matriarch who comes out of hiding five years after the murder to reveal to the writer that the answer to his questions might be found in 16 mm snuff films buried in Death Valley. Marsden, who stars this weekend in Hop, will play Charles Manson. Hall will play a corrupt, wheelchair-bound manager of the dead musician. Palermo, who split with longtime Seed Productions partner Hugh Jackman, is solidifying the financing and distribution to start production in L.A.
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Was hoping for a zombie circus pic… instead, I guess I’ll just have to be satisfied by a killer sounding drama.
I read this script and it’s amazing! Dark, gritty and cool.
Could you tell me how big is the part James Marsden is playing???
Thanks!
Good for John he always had great taste and will make a great producer on his own.
Love the cast! I read that Adam had been planning on making this movie for a long time. Good for him and John P.
Sounds cool, but I just have a thing about making real people’s deaths into a fictitious story.
Exactly.
But when it comes down to deciding between the feelings of a victim’s family and money/dubious “fame”/even more dubious “acclaim” we know from long, sick experience exactly where Hollywood stands.
I love Melissa Leo, if she’s in it I’m sure it’s going to be amazing.
Can’t wait for this to come out. I’ve seen Davenport’s short-film, Midnight Son, and I know he’s going to be a great director.
Congratulations, Adam; everyone at O’Toole is proud of you.
John is a perfectionist in all
He does I’m so looking foreward to this
Bobby is my birth father. He was not murdered by Frank Sinatra or the Manson family. The truth is even darker. Those of us close to this story have a pretty good idea who did it.
So–write a book and tell the “true” story if you’re really his kid. I’m a longitme fan and would love to read it.
I’ve read the script (brilliantly dark!) and not sure that it blames Manson or Sinatra squarely for Fuller’s death. I think it’s a bit more complicated than that. Sinatra isn’t even mentioned in the screenplay. Is Sinatra attributed in the original novel?
Don’t get your facts wrong huh? Well I can tell you you sure got yours wrong. I Fought the Law was a hit long before the week he died- it was released in 1965. Gasoline was NOT poured down his throat.
This movie and the book it’s based on is total BS. It’s an insult to Fuller, his fans, and everyone who knew him. He does not deserve to be wrapped up in some BS fictional story. His own life story was far more interesting than this.
From wikipedia….
“Just after “I Fought The Law” became a Top 10 hit, Fuller was found dead in an automobile parked outside his Hollywood apartment. The Los Angeles deputy medical examiner, Jerry Nelson, performed the autopsy.[5] According to Dean Kuipers:[6] “The report states that Bobby’s face, chest, and side were covered in “petechial hemorrhages” probably caused by gasoline fumes and the heat. He found no bruises, no broken bones, no cuts. No evidence of beating.” Kuipers further explains that boxes for “accident” and “suicide” were ticked, but next to the boxes were question marks. Despite the official cause of death, some commentators believe Fuller was murdered.”
Sounds pretty accurate to me.
I bet $20 Miriam Linna is the author of the comment posted by “fan.”
Who is Miriam Linna?
Thanks for that comment. I agree, Bobby does not deserve to be mixed up with this nonsense. No one ever had the guts to stand up for Bobby, if they knew who his killer was. He deserved THAT…and a whole lot more!
If you don’t like a literary or Hollywood take on something, make a documentary on the subject. But what makes this story “total bs” as “fan” posts above? I can’t find anything online to support the claim. Just after “I Fought The Law” became a Top 10 hit, Fuller was found dead in an automobile parked outside his Hollywood apartment. The LA deputy medical examiner, Jerry Nelson, performed the autopsy. According to Dean Kuipers, “The report states that Bobby’s face, chest, and side were covered in “petechial hemorrhages” probably caused by gasoline fumes and the heat. Unless you want to allege that the entire history concerning Bobby Fuller’s death is false, that’s the facts that are available for the public record.
where in there does it say gasoline was poured down his throat? It wasn’t. It was poured on him.
But that’s not the main thing that is the issue here. This is a sensationalized story that is just exploiting the tragic death of a real person.
What does it say about gasoline in the script? Has anyone here actually read it? Maybe the press in announcing this made an error or misnomer to try to sound attention-grabbing… that happens all the time. Guess we’ll just have to get a hold of the script or see the actual movie when it comes out to see how the filmmakers handle it all, the bybrid of entertainment, fact-telling, mythmaking and all.
What is the ballpark budget for this movie? I think 1 to 2M at most.
I think more like $10M. Reads more like a low budget LA Confidential or Chinatown.
The person was obviously trying to point out that whoever wrote this made errors. They weren’t implying it was in the script. Why else did they write “don’t get your facts wrong” It says that right here in the post a comment section.
The thing about I Fought the Law reaching success just the week before his death is an error as well and you guys really shouldn’t rely on wikipedia for your information – “…it jumped into the national charts immediately following its release, eventually peaking at #9 four months after its release, and has stayed in consistent radio rotation ever since. “I Fought The Law” was the song that brought the biggest audience response at the BF4′s shows…” – Aaron J. Poehler article “The Strange Case of Bobby Fuller”
The whole plot is mostly fiction. It seemed like they were just grabbing on to famous people to draw attention to a far fetched and lackluster story.
Morally I think it’s very wrong to use Bobby Fuller in this considering he died in a very brutal murder. One that I know upsets people to this day and is unsolved. We all know though Hollywood doesn’t run on morals though, it runs on money. It’s just a shame for people who don’t even know of him will be introduced this way. Could they separate the fact from fiction? Somehow I don’t think a lot of people are clever enough to do that these days. That’s why loads of false information about him persists to this day.
Proud of my formal student. Keep being creative, Adam.
John Novak, since you are the son of Bobby Fuller, contact cold case warriors like Mark Fuhrman (solved Martha Moxley’s murder in Connecticut) and John Walsh of “America’s Most Wanted!” Both work for the Fox Network and can be contacted through the network. When “The Dead Circus’ is released. it will spark a renewed interest in the case.
Casting Academy Award Winner Melissa Leo as a Manson Family Matriarch in “The Dead Circus” guarantees the success of the film and guarantees another Oscar for Melissa. As Melissa’s unpaid press agent who would like to see the media discuss Melissa and “The Dead Circus” 24/7 for the next year, I would urge Melissa to call an immediate press conference at which she would announce that she is inviting the rea;l Chales Manson to be her “Oscar date” next year. The studio will then petition Governor Brown to release Manson from prison for the one night. The media will go nuts! They will talk about nothing else. People will flock to the theaters to see “The Dead Circus.” Larry King will come out of retirement to interview Manson in prison. The Academy voters will announce in advance that Melissa has unanimously been selected as the Oscar winner just in case Manson shows up. People will forget Melissa’s “F” bomb. Charlie Sheen will proclaim that “Melissa Leo has tiger blood!” Joan Rivers, Ryan Seacrest and “The Fashion Police” will spend hours comparing Manson’s prison uniforms with current fashions. As Charlie Sheen would say: “DUH, WINNING!”
Contacting FOX now. Thanks, Don. Tabbi…I do have enough material to write a book, plus several albums worth of music to record. I’m on Facebook if anyone wants to hook up with me there. Lots of rare photos of Bobby along with some great comments by Rick Stone, Billy Webb Sr, and others close to Bobby.
Also talk to Rick Stone on FB. Rick was Bobby’s best friend and road manager on the Bobby Fuller Four’s last tour. He was living with Bobby in the apartment and one of the first ones on the scene after Bobby’s mother found her son’s body in her car. Rick’s mother, Mary Stone, co-wrote 15 songs with Bobby and was responsible for helping him have his first hit record.