A new documentary on legendary guitarist Eric Clapton is currently in the works, as reported by Variety. The movie, which will be titled Eric Clapton: A Life In 12 Bars, is meant to be a career-spanning glimpse into Clapton’s professional and personal life. Lili Fini Zanuck, who produced the Oscar-winning Driving Miss Daisy, is to direct the film, and John Battsek, who produced Oscar winners Searching For Sugar Man and One Day In September, has been brought on board as a producer.
In a statement, director Lili Zanuck noted, “Clapton’s music is the foundation of our film. His commitment to the blues, its traditions and originators, is absolute from his earliest days. . . . He was also forever restless in his search of a suitable vehicle to shape and grow his artistic voice, often bewildering fans and the media with sudden changes in musical direction, bands, songs, guitar style, tone and physical appearance.” Zanuck continued, “It is indeed a melancholic victory lap, full of nostalgic myth, but always musically potent, always looking to the future. . . . Despite the fact that his path is strewn with tragedies, addiction and loss, he never fails to regain his bearings and continue to serve what he holds dearest: his music.”
To create the film, producer John Battsek noted that for the project, they had “unique access to Clapton’s extensive personal archive of classic performance clips, on- and off-stage footage, iconic photos, concert posters, handwritten letters, drawings and personal diary entries — elements with the power to transport audiences to each era, from obsessive student, to peer, to transcendent figure in musical history and one of the greatest guitarists of all time.”
As of yet, there is no official release date for the film, though footage from the film will be debuted at Berlin’s European Film Market.