Keith Moon Biopic To Begin Filming in June

Moon the Loon is finally getting his big-screen debut 44-years after his death from an accidental overdose.

The long-rumored-and-awaited Keith Moon biopic is set to begin shooting in Britain this June and will be directed by Paul Whittington (Hero, The Crown) and written by Oscar-nominated screenwriter Jeff Pope (Philomena), according to a report in Variety.

The news does not yet appear on The Who’s official website, but published reports say singer Roger Daltry and singer/guitarist Pete Townsend will be executive producers of the film, which will borrow its title from the Quadrophenia song “The Real Me.”

If the movie stays true to the legends of Moon the Loon, legendary for his pranks and his ability to seemingly out-drink and out-party all of his rock star peers, it should be one crazy, entertaining ride.

Some of those stories include Moon, in the early touring days of The Who, traversing the world with a plethora of explosives (he reportedly loved cherry bombs), chopping an innocent Saskatchewan hotel room to pieces with an ax, flooding another hotel when he broke a water bed while attempting to move it to the lobby (for whatever reason), and driving a Rolls Royce into a swimming pool in 1967.

And, of course, there was the infamous 1973 incident where he passed out at the drum kit during a San Francisco concert at The Cow Palace after washing down horse tranquilizers with booze. This resulted in Pete Townsend asking if anyone in the audience knew how to play the drums, and his call was answered by Who fan Thomas Scot Halpin, who experienced a dream come true when he took over for Moon for the entirety of that night’s show.

No word yet on who might play Moon, and whether or not that person will be required to have any experience at playing the drums – mimicking the well-known manic drumming style of Keith Moon — he attacked a kit more than he played it — certainly would be an exhausting endeavor for whoever is tasked with the role.

On a side note, the Cambridge Dictionary offers an explanation of whether or not biopic is pronounced BIO-pick or bi-OP-ic. Turns out (and this is the way many Generation Xers remember it) it’s commonly pronounced bi-OP-ic in the USA, but BIO-pick in the U.K.

Consider the matter settled here at Glide Magazine.

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