SHAILENE WOODLEY WILL PLAY JANIS JOPLIN IN BIOPIC—LATEST ACTRESS ATTACHED IN DECADES-LONG EFFORT TO BRING JOPLIN’S LIFE TO FILM

Topline

Emmy nominee Shailene Woodley will play Janis Joplin in an upcoming film about the rock musician’s life, making her the latest of many actresses that have been attached to play Joplin in various projects over at least the past 25 years—none of which have materialized.

Key Facts

Woodley, an Emmy-nominated actress for “Big Little Lies,” will star in and produce an upcoming film about the life of Janis Joplin for Temple Hill Entertainment, the California Film Commission announced Tuesday.

Woodley’s Joplin biopic will receive a $2.5 million taxpayer-funded credit, one of several films the commission announced will receive funding through California’s Film and Television Tax Credit Program.

Woodley said “California meant so much to Janis Joplin – from the stoops of San Francisco to the wooden walls of Sunset Sound,” according to the release, calling the state the “only place to film a slice of Janis’s life.”

The release did not specify a filming or release date, though the tax credit for Woodley’s film was awarded for the fiscal year 2024-2025, which is the period during which films may begin using their tax credits, according to the California Film Commission.

While details on the film are scant, the commission says it is slated to shoot in California for 30 days, will employ 150 cast and crew members and is estimated to generate nearly $10 million in qualified expenditures, which the commission defines as wages and payments to in-state vendors.

Forbes has reached out to Temple Hill Entertainment and representatives for Woodley for comment.

How Many Actresses Have Been Attached To Play Joplin?

Variety reported in 2004 the singer P!nk was attached to a Joplin biopic to be directed by Penelope Spheeris, tentatively titled “The Gospel According to Janis,” which would have been her acting debut. Pink, however, reportedly dropped out of the project years later, calling the casting process a “circus.” She discussed the project on Howard Stern’s radio show in 2023, stating it is a “lot harder to get a biopic done about a female,” adding she doesn’t think a Joplin film will ever materialize because she feels the late Joplin “doesn’t want it made.” She slammed the script she had read as ahistorical, stating: “They wanted it to be that Janis chose to just end it — no, dude, she overdosed.” Most recently, actress Michelle Williams was attached to an unrealized project in 2016 called “Janis” from director Sean Durkin, years after Nina Arianda was attached to Durkin’s project. A biopic titled “Get It While You Can” starring Amy Adams started development in 2010, but was mired in years of legal troubles as production companies LKL Productions and Silver Reel sued writer-producer Ron Terry for allegedly violating an agreement they had to restructure loans Terry had received. Zooey Deschanel, Renée Zellweger, Lili Taylor, Laura Theodore and Brittany Murphy were all attached to Joplin biopics at various points. Courtney Love also claimed she was offered the role of Joplin in a biopic, telling HuffPost in 2013: “I’m a little prettier than Janis Joplin so it's always like that. Whatever.”

Big Number

$51.6 million. That’s how much money the California Film Commission announced in tax credits for 18 upcoming film projects and one television series on Tuesday, including the Joplin biopic. Other projects receiving funding to film in California include the “Suits: L.A.” series and the “Community” revival movie, which will star the original cast from the NBC comedy series.

Tangent

Biographical films about musicians are a lucrative genre at the box office: Earlier this year, “Bob Marley: One Love” became a surprise box office hit and one of the highest-grossing musician biopics of all time, grossing more than $180 million worldwide. The Queen biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody” became the highest-grossing musician biopic in 2019, making more than $910 million worldwide, while the 2022 film “Elvis” was another hit, grossing more than $288 million.