Reeve Carney to play Jeff Buckley in film

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- Reeve Carney, star of Broadway's "Spiderman: Turn off the Dark," has been cast as Jeff Buckley in a big-screen bio-picture, the film's producers said.

The musician, singer, songwriter and actor will headline the "Untitled Jeff Buckley" movie, to be directed by Jake Scott and written by Ryan Jaffe.

The filmmakers said they hold the exclusive rights to Buckley's music and personal archives. They said their project is fully supported by Buckley's mother, Mary Guibert, who serves as executive producer.

Michelle Sy and Orian Williams are producing, with Alison Raykovich serving as associate producer.

Producers are currently casting the rest of the project.

The film will chronicle the life of Buckley, a recording artist who died at age 30 in a drowning accident in Memphis' Wolf River.

Production on the movie about his life is to commence in New York and Memphis in November.

"We are over the moon that Reeve has agreed to take on this challenging role. I've seen him perform several times... he's been getting ready for this all his life. It certainly doesn't hurt that he looks so much like Jeff," Guibert said in a statement Monday.

"We are excited to have found in Reeve the perfect combination of musical prodigy, impish charm, innate intelligence and sensitivity to play Jeff," Scott added.

Buckley's only studio release during his lifetime was the widely acclaimed album "Grace," which includes a popular interpretation of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah." His posthumous album, "Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk," garnered a Grammy nomination for Best Male Rock Vocal for the song "Everybody Here Wants You."