Bon Scott Biopic In Pre-Production

One of Australia and rock music’s most enduring bands, AC/DC are heading towards their 40th Anniversary and just in time to celebrate is a new movie looking at the historic legacy of the band’s iconic singer, Bon Scott.

The appropriately named High Voltage Productions has begun pre-production and development on the proposed feature, a docu-drama titled Bon Scott: The Legend of AC/DC , with the US-based team moving ahead with the publicity and production for the film at a pace.

According to Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles, there was another film based on the legendary AC/DC vocalist in the works since 2008, but with nothing from that project yet to materialise, High Voltage Productions have swept in with hopes to be the first full-length feature on the topic.

The screenplay for the the upcoming film was written by Rob Liotti, who also happens to have portrayed Bon Scott for a number of years in his tribute band TNT and his bringing his experience as a singer to bear on his script. Liotti is also expected to be taking the starring role in the film, fulfilling his Bon Scott tribute on the big screen.

Liotti’s screenplay will examine the integral period in the AC/DC timeline between Scott’s introduction to the band (replacing original vocalist Dave Evans), through the group’s rise to super-stardom, to his untimely death in 1980. The film will also focus on the realism of Scott’s own inner turmoil, from his extreme lonerism and isolation to the misadventures that eventually claimed his life.

In a press release, Liotti said: “There are a lot of challenges with a project of this type. One of the biggest challenges is authenticity. This is an American production of an ostensibly Australian-based story. Therefore, dialect is highly important, as well as capturing the true dynamic of the band and its members.”

Fair point, no one wants to see Americanisms laid all-over arguably the greatest Australian pub rock band of all time, despite the strong Scottish heritage. “There are high expectations to be met from the outset. But it is a story that is viable and deserves to be told,” says Liotti. Adding ”moreover, the Australians claim ‘ownership’ of the band.”

Indeed the Australian women’s synchronised swimming team have ‘owned’ some of the band’s biggest hits at the London 2012 Olympics. Using AC/DC’s ‘Back In Black’ and ‘Thunderstruck’ as the soundtrack to their Free Routine Final at the synchornised swimming event held last Friday August 10.

Unfortunately, they didn’t make much of a splash, coming eighth (and last) with a score of 77.43 – well, as Scott always sang “It’s A Long Way To The Top.”