Penn Badgley - Greetings from Tim Buckley {Contains Spoilers} #28: September 17th can't get here any quicker!

YoursToHold · 09-06-2013, 06:36 PM

Greetings From Tim Buckley
With Penn Badgley as Jeff Buckley

Greetings from Tim Buckley follows the story of the days leading up to Jeff Buckley's eminent 1991 performance at his father's tribute concert in St. Ann's Church. Through a romance with a young woman working at the concert, he learns to embrace all of his feelings toward the father who abandoned him - longing, anger, forgiveness, and love. Culminating a cathartic performance of his father's most famous songs, Jeff's debut stuns the audience and launches his career as one of the greatest young musicians of his time. IMDB

worldwide release dates

Trailer:

Stills
Stills - Penn Badgley Web Gallery | Greetings from Tim Buckley | Tribeca

Filming locations info & pics:
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Animations:

Source

Source

Pics:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11

Interviews with Penn:
Nylon interview | MTV interview | Vulture interview
an interview with Imogen

Interviews with Frank Bello (Richard Hell in the film):
myYearbook| Movieline | Spinner

a Pic with Fran & a pic of Penn & William Sadler (Lee Underwood in the film)

Gary Lucas @ Tiff

TIFF interviews:
Variety | National post | Rolling Stone | Next movie |
The Hollywood Reporter | People | tribute.ca Ben Rosenfield Interview

Making of with:
Penn Badgley | Daniel Algrant

Media Reviews:

The attraction is Penn Badgley's vibrant break-out performance as Jeff Buckley, who in the course of a tribute concert to his father comes to some kind of terms with his strong love-hate feelings for his father.
...With the cool mischievousness and dark good looks of a young James Franco, Badgley has a seductive energy that always seems to be about to go someplace dangerous, but in this case Allie shakes him out of his mood and they return to New York.
...When Jeff takes the mike, the house comes down and a star is born. This iconic scene dovetails so well into Jeff’s personal journey towards his father that it doesn’t really matter what an obvious finale it is.
^The Hollywood reporter

Badgely does a thrilling job capturing the mix of siren sweetness and caterwaul in Jeff's vocals
^ Variety

As the fallen indie rock idol Jeff Buckley, Penn Badgley rocks it (and nails it) in 'Greetings from Tim Buckley,' a seductive piece of musical mumblecore
In Greetings from Tim Buckley, Penn Badgley, from Gossip Girl, wears his dark hair in a high, coiffed, ’50s-on-acid pompadour, and he carries himself with the kind of spooky self-possession that says: “If I’m this possessed, just imagine how I might possess you.” At the same time, he’s slack and wary in the hipster style, with a passivity that’s really his way of insisting that you always come to him. Badgley, with tawny skin and popping eyes, looks like Johnny Depp with a touch of John Mellencamp. He’s a great camera subject (and a great singer — he does an eerily perfect impersonation of the Buckley wail), but what draws you to him in this movie is his private, almost invisible woe.
^ EW

It's heartening when a celebrity breaks the mold, especially at a film festival. It feels, at least to me, that that's what the festivals are there for: to discover as-yet-unknown talent. What makes it even better is Badgley transcends his "teen appeal" persona by taking on this role. Buckley is idolized in certain circles, so he was taking a pretty large risk. I think both Badgley and Buckley fans will be pleasantly surprised.
Farewell, Gossip Girl, it seems Badgley's moving on to greener pastures.
^ Moviefone

But darn it if Penn Badgley didn’t pull it off. From his soulful performance as a conflicted young man trying to reconcile the world’s adoration of his father with his own memories, to his phenomenal vocals, he nailed it. (There's a scene in which he delivers an impromptu serenade in the middle of a record store that puts Pretty in Pink's Duckie to shame.)
^ Msn

And Penn Badgley’s performance. There was no Dan Humphrey there, no Penn Badgley there — it was just his Jeff Buckley. Like with the rest of the characters, his portrayal avoided sentimentality; instead it felt messy and real and honest. While there are big memorable scenes — the record store scene got applause during the screening — what hit me most was a conversation about his father, Jeff squirming opposite Allie on a train ride. There was a complexity there, an unsettled mashup of conflicting emotions, that reminded me of conversations I’ve had with friends who’ve lost charismatic parents.
I left the theatre feeling (somewhat oddly) proud of Penn Badgley. It’s a courageous performance — in a film that explores the courage it takes to perform. A solid movie.
^ The Calhoun Tribune

But Greetings from Tim Buckley is still mildly worth a look for the strong and clearly dedicated performances of Penn Badgley and Imogen Poots, as well as the excellent musical numbers.
^ One movie five views

Penn Badgley’s performance here as the late, lamented singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley (1966-1997) is so strong and involving that if he wasn’t already a star courtesy his gig on TV’s Gossip Girl you’d be tempted to go Garland and break out the “a-star-is-born” huzzah. Let’s just say then that “a screen star is born” in Dan Algrant’s smart, nuanced and sensitive biopic

I’ve seen a devastating film this year (The Act of Killing), an audacious one (Leviathan) and a smart one (No). But the best film? The one that took me by surprise, that delivered beyond trepidation or expectation, that wasn’t freighted with box-cars of hype or a collective holding of breath? That would be Greetings from Tim Buckley, directed and co-written by Dan Algrant. Biopics about musicians are always tricky but this one – about the late Tim Buckley (1947-75) and his son, the equally late Jeff Buckley (1966-97) – avoids all the pitfalls and features an Academy-worthy performance from Penn Badgley as the haunted Jeff. “I poured every ounce of myself into it,” Badgley said the other day. It shows.
^ The globe and mail

Badgley will leave “Gossip Girl” when it ends this season to have a movie career thanks to his surprising works as the late, lamented singer. He turns out to be a charming musical presence in “Greetings,”
...I have never watched an episode of “Gossip Girl.” I met Badgley outside Shake Shack years ago and didn’t really know what he did. But I can tell you that as Jeff Buckley he is a most pleasant surprise.
^ Showbiz411

I forgive the film these shortcomings due to the excellent performances, including Badgley’s closing number, which is a showstopper.
^ The film stage

Having Penn Badgley in the lead is a major success as well. He nails Jeff’s jazzy quaver that always threatened but never delivered dissonance.
^ Screencrush

While the film might not be quite as sweet and heady as drinking a glass of lilac wine, Penn Badgley's performance in "Greetings From Tim Buckley" does justice to the late Jeff Buckley, while also revealing that the "Gossip Girl" star has quite a few more talents than he's thus far been given credit for.
...His arc never strays much further than pouty faces gazing in the distance, but the handful of scenes that do let Badgley be romantic or funny tend to liven the character and picture all at once.
...But this is Badgley's show, with 'Greetings' eventually culminating with the concert, and Alagrant takes his time here. Badgley gets two numbers with the group assembled to play his father's tunes in addition to a grand finale all his own, which is appropriately a highlight.
^ Indiewire

Performance: Good idea to have entrusted the role of Buckley Junior Penn Badgley (Dan in Gossip Girl): it is true that they look alike ... The actor is still a little young, a little awkward - but that's probably on purpose. And he sings well, the guy.
^ Yahoo France

Greetings from Tim Buckley, which stars Gossip Girl heartthrob Penn Badgley as the late singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley, is surprising on at least two fronts: Badgely can really sing; and the film avoids rock star bio-pic excess
^ GreenCine

Honestly, when we heard they were casting an actor to play late singer Jeff Buckley, a role that attracted Robert Pattinson, Reeve Carney, James Franco and every other white man in Hollywood with devastating cheekbones, we didn’t immediately assume any of the guys from Gossip Girl would be right for the role. However we just watched Penn Badgley in the trailer for Greetings From Tim Buckley, which premiered last week at the Toronto International Film Festival, and Dan Humphrey is bringing it. Why do his puppy dog eyes seem soulful instead of twee? How are we being completely drawn into the narrative! It can’t just be those cheekbones!
Looks like Penn is equally impressed with this performance. "Nobody thought I could do it," Badgley laughed in his Vulture interview yesterday. “I have to choose my words carefully, but I mean this in just the most plain way: I knew I could do it. I was not concerned about the singing. I was concerned about doing it in the right way, because I actually can imitate him more than I did in the movie.” Well, maybe Penn’s has reason to be that confident. “It was kind of terrifying because I was the only person who thought I could do it,” he admits now. The movie has yet to get a release date, but hopefully Penn has enough time to snag an Oscar nom for his roll. Then we’ll have a good excuse to spend 72 man hours digging up the teeny bopper single he recorded as a child. “Well, when you come to L.A. as a kid with your mom, you’re lured into doing things that you think are cool and fun and a good idea, but they’re cheesy and awful. And recording a pop single was one of them,” Penn sighs. "It’s dismal and will never see the light of day." Ah, but you probably thought your mega singing talent wouldn’t see the light of day either, and here we are. Here we are.
^ VH1

This film is all about Penn's break-out performance as a brooding and totally believable Buckley - voice and all. Who knew that such a talent was hiding under Dan Humphries' mop of curly hair? Badgley lets loose in a memorable record-shop, which sees him warbling his way through the decades to impress Allie, and his two full-length performances at the tribute concert are breath-taking. Ben Rosenfield, while failing to out-shine Badgley, is equally as convincing as Tim Buckley; at several junctures having us fooled that we're watching actual documentary footage.

Despite the narrative failings of this film, the emotion and nostalgia played through by the leads makes Greetings From Tim Buckley far more than watchable. We could have watched the final concert from start to finish (watch out for a cameo from come-back kid Kate Nash as one of the band) and Badgley more than does justice to one of music's cult heroes. Goodbye Gossip Girl, hello world.
^ Glamour UK

However, in a film which appeals to a niche audience, did Gossip Girl star and teenage heartthrob Penn Badgley impress in the role of Jeff Buckley, an artist who has grown hugely in popularity since his tragic death?

Surprisingly yes, he did. Though Badgley did not go out his way to give Buckley fans an uncanny impersonation of the intimate singer, who was renowned for his intense live performances, he did provide his own compelling version of him. This was a wise move from Badgley who brought the wide eyed narcotic temperament of a tortured artist to the performance as his character; rather than attend rehearsals, he plays hooky with production intern and love interest Allie (Imogen Poots) before, finally, facing up to the pain caused by his father’s absence. When it comes to the vocals, Badgley nails it. Who knew such talent lay beneath Dan Humphries’ mop of hair? In one memorable scene, set in a record store, Penn warbles rock hits through the decades with the arrogant sarcasm of an agnsty teenager and, in a Led Zeppelin mimicry, reaches every high note with ease. Not to mention his astonishing full-length performances at the tribute concert.
Met with a positive response after its premiere at the 2012 Toronto Film Festival ‘Greetings…’ gave fans their much needed Buckley fix. However, the question of whether the film will stretch beyond this niche audience of music lovers following its showing at the Glasgow Film Festival is debatable. With a relatable subtext about father-son relations and a routine quasi-romance ‘Greetings…’ could appeal to a wider audience.
^ Bright Young Scribes

Filmmaker Dan Algrant has infused Greetings from Tim Buckley with an incredibly low-key feel that proves an effective complement to his loose screenplay, with the movie's decidedly freewheeling narrative concerned primarily with capturing the mood and atmosphere of the impending concert (and the concert itself). It's a choice that, generally speaking, works quite well, and although the movie is consequently not engrossing on a consistent basis, Algrant has effectively peppered the storyline with a number of stand-out sequences. (This is especially true of a showstopping interlude in which Jeff essentially serenades Allie in an indie record shop.) It's ultimately clear that Greetings from Tim Buckley benefits substantially - and this is a tremendous understatement - from Badgley's immersive and consistently electrifying turn as the late Buckley, and there's little doubt that the actor, who does much of his own singing in the film, becomes Buckley to a degree that's often nothing short of astonishing. (The flashback sequences of Tim and his exploits don't fare quite as well, as such moments ultimately wreak a fair amount of havoc on the movie's tenuous momentum.) The end result is a stirring (if far from cohesive) effort that will appeal to Buckley fans and neophytes alike, with Badgley's star-making turn undoubtedly ranking as the film's most potent weapon/attribute.
^ reelfilm

The film’s core strength is the revelatory lead performance of dead ringer Penn Badgley (best known for his role in TV’s Gossip Girl). His Buckley is alternately solipsistic, tender, and needy; one moment an exhibitionist, the next painfully shy; always instinctive. It’s a keen, respectful and intelligent imaging of a figure whom we know fairly little of. The actor, to his immense credit, insisted on singing all of Buckley’s parts, and he makes an excellent effort to nail the singer’s ethereal tenor-cum-falsetto. The stand-out scene finds Buckley and another musician jamming an early version of the soaring ‘Grace’ (which would become the haunting title track of Buckley’s sole LP in 1994).
^ Grolsch film works

Jeff’s performance at this concert set into motion the making of his only studio album, Grace, and Penn Badgley’s performance portrays the passion and posturing of this musician with confidence.
Badgley battles Jeff’s anger and sadness towards his absent father with fiery outbursts and impromptu song and for the most part he gets it right.
^ Cinetalk

In Penn Badgley, you have the key to the film's success, a doppelganger who doesn't just look like a ghost when he steps up to the mic, he sounds like one too. Rather than leave you hanging with doubts as to whether Badgley will be able to do the songs justice until the big show, Algrant and his collaborators slyly insert scenes which soften the anticipation of his Buckley impersonation. These give an impressionable idea of the actor's vocal range without spoiling the magic of him singing Buckley's songs, held in reserve until the concert.

When Buckley finds himself vibing off a fellow band mate and getting in the zone as they feel their way through an extended jam of work-in-progress riffs, he's wailing notes that will later form the basis of his album's treasured title track. The scene itself is little more than a trivia note for fans, which doesn't move the story along in any way, but it's these true-to-life scrappy moments which don't fit so easily together in a narrative that remind us that the biopic doesn't have to be as smooth and straightforward as the Oscars would have us believe.

An impromptu date at a record store with Allie the intern is an early wowzer of flawless mimicry, Badgley doing A Capella renditions of the vocalists on each record he picks up as he moves down the aisles, ending with a rock star slide on the floor and belting out some Zepplin. The sudden switches of vocal style best encapsulate this personality in pieces; cocky exhibitionist one moment and slouchy little lost boy the next. A primal scream of unanchored, enigmatic youth, Badgley's incredible performance is sure to turn a lot of heads, proving there's much more to him than Gossip Girl.

By the time we get to long held takes of the star delivering stripped back, soulful interpretations of "I Never Promised to Be Your Mountain" and "Once I Was" in front of an audience, Badgley is living these songs in a way that goes beyond acting. Doing much more than simply paying tribute, they stand alongside the originals in their own right, opening the eyes of the uninitiated to a musical legacy which will have them clicking through to iTunes before the credits have rolled.
^ Cineoutsider

Small but pleasant musical surprise that I received today from Greetings from Tim Buckley. I was expecting a biopic on the life and tragic death of singer Jeff Buckley and instead I found myself in front of an intimate film, which more than one specific story recounts the ideal thread and emotional that tied the boy to his father, Tim, who was also famous songwriter. The New York-90s rebuilt wisely with a few brushstrokes melancholy by director Daniel Algrand. A shy character but full of energy, the conflictual relationship with a famous parent but absent, practically never met, among others who also died young. The sense of lack subdued but steady: this tells Greetings From Tim Buckley, also built by wise flashbacks that outline in a clear and open alnche the fragile character of Tim. Movies of references, with a fine texture but not superficial, built to a concert / commemoration of the music of Tim Buckley. Bravo the protagonist Penn Padgley (Gossip Girl on TV, Margin Call) to draw the inner life of Jeff with a few strokes and many silences. Nice and airy his partner Imogen Poots (Fright Night, A Late Quartet). On the whole, however, the beautiful music of the two songwriters, able to go straight to the heart of the viewer.
^LA FIAMMA DEL PECCATO

Director Dan Algrant has crafted a quiet and moving film here, showcasing the up and coming talent of Jeff and the beauty that his father was able to craft in his songwriting but not in his personal life. It’s a delicate piece, and Badgley’s performance showcases it quite nicely. His quiet intensity is compelling, and damned if his singing voice doesn’t remind you of Jeff’s own unique, falsetto heavy charm. It’s truly a breakout performance, one that I hope doesn’t go unnoticed. Poots is charming and vibrant as the girl of Buckley’s own eye, and the film’s flashbacks to Tim’s own life (here played with an innocent glee by Ben Rosenfield) are a moving companion piece to Jeff’s real “coming of age’ story. The film itself moves like a song on Jeff’s own album “Grace;” quiet and unassuming and sparkling with an intense wonder. Hallelujah, here he comes
^The Artswire
But Badgley delivers a performance of such nuance and ferocity that he single-handedly makes a conventional film seem loose and improvisatory. With his lackadaisical gait, a shock of unkempt hair, and his method naturalism, Badgley triumphs over a seemingly impossible challenge: embodying such a beloved and important musician, not only acting as him but singing in his trademark tenor.
^LA weekly