Sophia Michaels
Everybody’s favorite SoCal stoner reggae-rap-rock innovators Sublime will be getting the official biopic treatment.
The movie was announced Thursday, with Francis Lawrence attached to direct and Chris Mundy writing the script. Lawrence is best known for big budget action flicks like I Am Legend, Red Sparrow, and four movies in the Hunger Games franchise (including next year’s The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes). Mundy, meanwhile, has earned multiple Emmy nominations while serving as showrunner/writer on Ozark.
The as-yet-untitled film has the support of Sublime as well. Surviving members Bud Gaugh and Eric Wilson are serving as executive producers, along with Troy and Jakob Nowell on behalf of the estate of late frontman Bradley Nowell.
“Wow – we can’t believe this is finally happening and we couldn’t be more honored and excited to have the great Francis Lawrence and Chris Mundy telling our story,” Sublime said in a statement, adding, “We know Bradley’s talent and spirit will be part of this incredible journey.”
Sublime’s manager Dave Kaplan added, “We’re thrilled Sublime’s insanely cool and important story will finally be told. They were fearless and pioneering in bringing together so many musical genres, cultures, and lifestyles during their short time as a band, and their music is still influencing musicians and artists to this day.”
Sublime have one of the most fascinating — and tragic — stories in contemporary rock music. Formed in Long Beach, California in the late-Eighties, the group mixed elements of punk, rock, ska, reggae, and hip-hop into tightly crafted pop songs that could be goofy, laid back, or fiercely political. Sublime dropped their debut, 40oz. To Freedom, in 1992 (it’s still one of the most successful independent albums of all time), then followed it up with 1994’s Robbin’ the Hood.
They eventually earned a major label deal with MCA, and their self-titled 1996 record arguably features their most iconic songs, “What I Got,” “Santeria,” and “Wrong Way.” But the album was released in July 1996, just a couple months after Nowell died of a heroin overdose in San Francisco.
