Bruce Springsteen Directorial Debut, ‘Western Stars,’ Premieres This Fall
Just remember when this movie premieres to what sounds like a chorus of boos, those are actually people screaming “BRUUUUUUUUCE” and they really loved it.
Yes, the announcement of the first wave of films at this fall’s Toronto International Film Festival included a very exciting surprise: The first movie directed by Bruce Springsteen. Titled Western Stars — the same name as Bruce’s new album — it’s a unique concert film.
TIFF artistic director Cameron Bailey described Western Stars in a bit more detail for Indiewire:
‘It’s largely performance, but there is a framing to it,’ Bailey said. ‘It’s very filmic, which is what attracted me. The album and the film are both about this fading Western movie B-level star who’s looking back on his life and the decisions he’s made. That narrative and that character shape all the songs.’
Springsteen co-directed the film with Thom Zimny, who recently directed the Netflix film version of the Boss’ Springsteen on Broadway show, and has previously worked with him on several projects. Anyone who’s seen Springsteen live on stage will tell you he’s a phenomenal performer — but the addition of a narrative element (Bailey says in between songs Bruce is “talking about this character he invented, the story he wrote for the character”) makes this project even more fascinating. It doesn’t have a distributor yet, so look for news about where to see Western Stars coming out of Toronto.
Gallery — Best Picture Winners Every Movie Lover Should See: