Paramount has given Bee Gees fans a reason to wear an everlasting smile this Halloween Thursday, as it's been announced that BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY producer Graham King is poised to mount a biopic focusing on the famous Disco-Rock trio. As one of the biggest-selling groups of all time, the Bee Gees have grossed over 220 million in record sales around the world since their 1958 debut.
Made up of brothers Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb, the Bee Gees hit the big time after they wrote a series of infectiously groovy tunes for SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER, the 1977 musical drama starring John Travolta and Karen Lynn Gorney as two soft-shoed soulmates in song and dance. At the time of its release, Disco fans flocked to record stores to get their spirited hands on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, helping it to become one of the top-selling albums of all time.
As Deadline tells it, Paramount has purchased the life rights to the Gibb family estate on behalf of GK’s King and has been granted permission to use their classic songs in the movie. Elisabeth Murdoch's newly-established studio, Sister, will board the project as either a producing partner or a co-financier, alongside Stacey Snider and CHERNOBYL producer Jane Featherstone.
In 1977, the Bee Gees were inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame, though they broke up in 2003 after Maurice Gibb passed away from cardiac arrest. Later in 2003, Robin and Barry Gibb reunited. Sadly, their union was short-lived as Robin then died of colon cancer in 2012.
The Bee Gees film project is the latest for Paramount after releasing ROCKETMAN, a biopic based on the life and times of Elton John, earlier this year. Meanwhile, Graham King's BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY earned a Best Picture Oscar nomination and stands as the highest-grossing music biopic ever with $903.6 million in worldwide receipts.
For what I can gather, Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb traveled a tough road on their way toward launching one of the most iconic singles of all time with "Stayin' Alive." Of course, Disco didn't last forever, and the transition was hard on the brothers Gibb. I've no doubt that there's plenty of drama within those troubled years to help tell a gripping story centered around struggle, the end of a musical error, and brotherly love. We'll be sure to bring you more news about the Bee Gees film project as it comes together.