Blues fans rejoice! An “unconventional biopic” about the infamous Robert Johnson is in the works. Love in Vain will be directed by Peter Ramsey, who made the fantastic Oscar-winning film Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse in 2018. This will be his first job directing a live-action feature film.
The pitch for Love in Vain was sold to Paramount by writer/director and Black List alum Krystin Ver Linden, who’s set to produce her own work next year.
Love In Vain will chronicle the life story of infamous blues musician Robert Johnson. We’d sell our soul to the devil to see that!
Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Mike Menchel and Grammy award-winning and ceiling dance enthusiast Lionel Richie are set to produce the film. The trio are reportedly developing a yet-to-be-titled Sammy Davis Jr. biopic too, which they also plan to produce.
The life of Robert Johnson would be an interesting topic for a biopic. Little is known about the details of his 27 years on earth, other than him selling his soul to the devil at the local crossroads for his masterful blues guitar prowess.
His legacy credits him as the pioneer of Delta Blues and the posthumous compilation album Columbia Records released in 1961, King of the Delta Blues Singers, is considered one of the greatest and most influential blues releases of all time. In 1986 he was one of the first inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his early influence on the genre.
The album was compiled of lo-fi recordings from 10-inch single releases between 1937 to 1938, one of which is the song Love in Vain; where the film gets its title.
