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After seven long years a project created by British actor Craig Robert Young (pictured) and American director Richard Keith is finally getting the audience it deserves…and it all thanks to Facebook.
Wannabe, billed as ‘A mockumentary about talent that should stay undiscovered,’ is a semi-autobiographical tale loosely based on Craig Robert Young’s experience in the cutthroat music industry.
The film follows the lives of a struggling boyband who are desperate to be discovered by Hollywood’s bigwigs.
Craig himself was once part of the UK chart-topping quintet Deuce, so, if anyone knows a thing or two about the fickle world of pop music, it’s him!
The film originally saw the light of day back in 2006 on the indie festival circuit where it was acquired byWarner Brothers Television studios.
Warners then placed TV producing powerhouse (and creator of Friends) Marta Kauffman in charge of the project, with the aim to turn “Wannabe” into a TV sitcom.
Typically, as is often the case in Tinseltown, just as the series was about to get the greenlight changes were made behind the scenes at the studio and “Wannabe” was shelved for a life in development hell.
But recently, the rights were returned to Young and Keith, which gave them the chance to release the movie using the wonders of modern technology.
Now, the film with nine lives has been picked up by Silicon Valley megabucks start-up company FutureLeap who have secured the rights to the flick.
Their primary goal is to give independent filmmakers like Young and Keith a platform to self-distribute their material using the powers of social media.
Young said: “I am thrilled we were chosen to be the first independent film on Futureleap’s slate, hopefully this will be the ‘new normal’ for filmmakers worldwide to get their movies seen.
“I reckon the public will enjoy Wannabe, because at its heart, it’s a story of perseverance, and never giving up despite rejection.
“Anyone who has had their fill of reality competitions such as American Idol, X Factor and So You Think You Can Dance, will get a kick out of watching this film,” he added.
“Wannabe” also boasts of a few celebrity cameos too, which include Matt Dallas of Kyle XY fame, Adam Huss star of Cinemax’s Femme Fatales, Oscar winner, Octavia Spencer and The Help‘s director Tate Taylor, all of whom appear briefly in the film (um…before they were famous).
Young tells me the best advice given in this movie is in the delivery of the casting director Janice Peterson, played by Carol Ita-White. Her hilarious one liner states, “Keep your legs open, and your mouth shut!”
I reckon that just about sums up showbiz… I wonder if Simon Cowell would agree with that?!
“Wannabe”is released this weekend exclusively on Facebook.
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