Penn Badgley and Jeff Buckley
The upcoming Jeff Buckley biopic reportedly has a leading man, and while Robert Pattinson was rumored to be "obsessed" with landing the role, he's now been beat out by Gossip Girl's Penn Badgley, who plays Dan Humphrey on the show.
A source told HollywoodLife.com, “Robert Pattinson is devastated he’s lost out on the one role he really wanted. It was down to Rob, James Franco and Penn for the part, and Rob was really pushing himself to get it.”
Buckley spent plenty of time in New York City, making his first singing debut at St. Ann's Church in Brooklyn—so expect plenty of New York footage in the biopic. His death, however, took place in Memphis in 1997, and was ruled an "accidental drowning," which his family said was "not related to drugs, alcohol, or suicide."
Buckley’s mother, Mary Guibert, is the executive producer of the movie, and has been helping in the casting process, and was looking for someone who also had musical chops... which apparently Badgley does.
For comparison:
At least it's not as bad as if Jared Leto was cast as Kurt Cobain, because this was painful enough to watch.
