HBO films has cast Al Pacino as Phil Spector in an as-yet-untitled film about the legendary record producer who is now serving a prison sentence of 19 years to life for the murder of actress Lana Clarkson.
The film, still in the early stages of development, will be written and directed by David Mamet. Barry Levinson, who won an Oscar for directing Rain Man, will serve as executive producer.
Spector, who is known as the creator of the ‘Wall of Sound’ technique, recorded such acts as the Beatles, Ike and Tina Turner, and the Ramones – producing a stream of pop megahits, including Be My Baby, Da Doo Ron Ron and You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling. Spector was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer.
Spector, 70, was convicted of second-degree murder last year after prosecutors convinced the jury that the record producer shot Lana Clarkson, a struggling actress, in the foyer of his mansion in 2003.
Pacino recently starred as Dr. Jack Kevorkian in the HBO film You Don’t Know Jack, a film about the life of ‘Dr. Death’ who served time in prison for assisting in the suicide of a terminally ill man.