Danny Boyle despairs over imagined musical: Disappointed by David Bowie

Acclaimed British director Danny Boyle has revealed he is still reeling from being forced to abandon a long-planned musical about David Bowie after the legendary musician refused to allow him to use his music.

Boyle has been working on a film about Bowie for years, and the screenplay was written by Frank Cottrell Boyce, who worked with Boyle on the opening ceremony of the London Olympics. However, the famous director admitted in an interview with "Radio Times" that he had to abandon the project after Bowie did not allow him to use his music.

Boyle revealed that Bowie's response "left him in despair" and that the project was not meant to be a traditional musical.

"I took on my current film about Steve Jobs to fill the void in my heart that was left after I left the Bowie project," said the director.

"It's a wonderful script, but since we didn't get the rights to use the music, we had to shelve it for now," Boyle said in another interview.

Boyle pointed out that he did not want to make a film like "Velvet Goldmine," Todd Haynes' 1998 film about the life of a glam rock musician whose story is very similar to Bowie's. Bowie did not like the mentioned film and even threatened to sue its creators, which is why the script had to be rewritten and distanced the main character from the famous musician, and he did not even allow them to use his music.

However, Boyle hopes that one day he will be able to make the said musical. This is not the first time the director has tried to include Bowie in his project, as he tried to book him to open the Olympics in 2012. He also admitted that Bowie's album "Low" inspired Boyle's 2013 thriller "Trance".

In an interview with "Radio Times", Boyle stated that he is convinced that Kate Winslet, who plays Jobs' right hand Joan Hoffman, would be as good behind the camera as she is in front of it.

"She's great on set. She likes to talk to the crew about everything and I don't understand why she hasn't directed a film before," said the director.

Earlier this year, Winslet said that after working with Boyle, she began to think about directing for the first time in her life.

"I became aware of my experience and how much knowledge I have about working behind the camera. I've also been married to a director for a long time and learned a lot from Sam Mendes, so - we'll see," she said.

Gallery