The Criterion CollectionThe Who definitely are not raining love on a recently announced film that’s been labeled a sequel to the 1979 film based on the band’s classic rock opera Quadrophenia. The British rock legends and their manager, Bill Curbishley, have issued a statement calling the upcoming movie, To Be Someone, “totally ridiculous” and declaring they neither endorse the project nor will have any involvement in it.
The message calls the movie “a blatant attempt to cash in on” the original film’s enduring popularity, and stresses, “For the avoidance of doubt, this project isn’t endorsed by The Who, Who Films, Universal or any of the other rights owners of the original.”
In addition, Curbishley, who co-produced the Quadrophenia film, maintains that the original movie “is a significant and influential film based on The Who’s music, not some…franchise,” while insisting that “[a]ny follow-up could only be made by the authors of the original and would need to be worthy of the name.” He adds, “This karaoke sequel announced recently would be totally ridiculous.”
The statement also points out that no Who music or lyrics will appear in the upcoming film.
U.K. newspaper The Mirror revealed last week that To Be Someone was set to feature several Quadrophenia cast members, including the film’s star, Phil Daniels, who portrayed the troubled mod teenager Jimmy. The new movie will be directed by Ray Burdis, and is based on the Peter Meadows book of the same name, which was inspired by the 1979 flick.
While Quadrophenia was set in the mod scene of mid-’60s London, the new film will take place in the present.
Burdis told The Mirror that Pete Townshend gave the book To Be Someone his blessing, but the Who star clearly doesn’t feel the same way about the film.
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