Tentatively titled “You Got It,” after Orbison’s 1988 hit single, the film will be “a romance more than a traditional biopic,” according to the announcement, focusing on Orbison’s relationship with his wife Barbara, who became his manager and played a key role in his comeback, which took place in the years just before his death at the age of just 52 December of 1988. Barbara Orbison died in 2011.
Denis O’Sullivan (“Bohemian Rhapsody”) and Jeff Kalligheri (“I Wanna Dance With Somebody”) will produce for Compelling Pictures. Alex Orbison, Roy Orbison Jr., and Wesley Orbison will executive-produce via their production company Roy’s Boys, with Joshua Mosshart. Also serving as executive producers are Steven Garcia, Ori Allon, Janice Beard, Tanner Beard, Lexie Beard, and Dennis Casali.
Orbison’s sons said in a joint statement: “The Orbisons are elated to find the perfect partners in Compelling Pictures for the Roy Orbison biopic. Denis and Jeff’s vision for this journey through Roy’s life is incredible.”
Orbison, of course, was one of rock music’s legendary figures, with a deep, majestic voice and 1960s hits like “Oh, Pretty Woman,” “Crying,” “Only the Lonely,” “Blue Bayou,” “Dream Baby,” “It’s Over” and “In Dreams.” However, his life was struck by tragedy first in 1966, when his wife Claudette was killed in a motorcycle accident, and again two years later when his two eldest sons died when his home outside Nashville burned down. While he continued working and married Barbara in 1969, his career lost momentum in the 1970s.
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