James Dean biopic in the works, Guy Guido attached to direct

The movie will be based on Dean’s 2006 memoir ‘Surviving James Dean’ by William Bast

Writer-director Guy Guido is planning to make a feature film on the personal life of the legendary Hollywood star James Dean.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the movie will be based on Dean’s 2006 memoir Surviving James Dean by William Bast.

Guido — known for Madonna and the Breakfast Club and Lovin’ Brooklyn — has already written the script. He is currently in talks with potential producers for the movie and is in the process of casting actors for the project.

Bast wrote the book describing his experience of meeting Dean, who starred in only three films, East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause, and Giant, at the UCLA theater program at the age of 19. In his account, the author said they soon became roommates, close friends, and eventually lovers.

In the book, the writer — who died in 2015 at age 84 — also described how they kept their romance away from the public to avoid interfering with the actor’s image, who was rising in his career.

Dean died five years after meeting Bast in a car accident in 1955 at the age of 24. Two of his signature films, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant, were released posthumously.

Guido has set his script from the first meeting between Bast and Dean to the actor’s death on September 30, 1955. The film will focus on the duo navigating their evolving relationship and Bast coming to terms with being gay during the 1950s.

Previously, the 2001 film James Dean explored the late actor’s life, with James Franco portraying the title role in the movie directed by Mark Rydell.

Published - October 01, 2024 05:17 pm IST