Long before Oasis sold out stadiums and battled it out with Blur for best Britpop group of the ‘90s, Noel Gallagher joined — or rather, took over — his brother Liam’s band, leading them to their chart-topping debut, Definitely Maybe. The always-provocative sibling relationship, along with the Beatles-laced sound that propelled the group to become one of the biggest bands in U.K. history is, no doubt, a heck of a story. Now, with the help of the production team behind lauded rock doc Amy, the story of the band’s early days will come to the silver screen.
Mat Whitecross (The Road to Guantanamo) will direct the new film, while Amy and Senna director Asif Kapadia will executive produce. The film is being sold by Independent at the American Film Market in Santa Monica this week.
According to Screen Daily, the filmmakers got their hands on an “unprecedented” amount of archival footage and interviews with the oft-quarreling brothers to bring the band’s history to light.
“Oasis are without doubt one of the classic British rock bands, defining the sound of a whole era,” said Andrew Orr of Independent in a statement. “At its heart are Liam and Noel Gallagher, two of the finest rock ‘n’ roll stars this country has ever produced. Mat’s sensibility and style are going to provide the perfect complement to this tale of the rise of one of the great rock ’n’ roll bands.”
Oasis released their last album, Dig Out Your Soul, in 2008 before splitting up in the summer of 2009. Hours after he allegedly broke his brother Liam’s guitar backstage at France’s Rock en Seine festival, Noel released a statement on his website: “It is with some sadness and great relief…I quit Oasis tonight. People will write and say what they like, but I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer.”
The brothers have since gone on to different projects, with Noel forming a group called Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds and Liam working with the rest of Oasis in the now-disbanded Beady Eye. Noel’s group, which put out the album Chasing Yesterday earlier this year, is still active.
While this film will likely be Whitecross’ most visible work, the filmmaker has previously worked on a variety of rock-related projects including Spike Island, Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, along with music videos for Coldplay, the Rolling Stones, and Jay Z. Spike Hill, his most recent feature, was a coming-of-age tale about a Manchester, England-based wannabe rock band.
James Gay Rees (Senna, Amy), Fiona Neilson (Spike Island), and Simon Halfon (Sleuth) will also exec produce the film, which doesn’t yet have a release date.
