Lili Fini Zanuck will direct 'Eric Clapton: A Life in 12 Bars'.

Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton

The 62-year-old filmmaker - who scooped an Oscar for Best Picture for 'Driving Miss Daisy' - will take the helm of the upcoming documentary feature on music legend Eric Clapton.

Speaking about the project, Zanuck said: "Clapton's music is the foundation of our film. His commitment to the blues, its traditions and originators, is absolute from his earliest days.

"He was also forever restless in his search of a suitable vehicle to shape and grow his artistic voice, often bewildering fans and the media with sudden changes in musical direction, bands, songs, guitar style, tone and physical appearance."

The "emotional spine of the film" will be Clapton's personal life, according to Zanuck, who says the documentary will feature big personal events for the singer including his traumatic childhood, the tragic death of his son in the 1990s as well as a number of happy events too.

She added: "It is indeed a melancholic victory lap, full of nostalgic myth, but always musically potent, always looking to the future. Despite the fact that his path is strewn with tragedies, addiction and loss, he never fails to regain his bearings and continue to serve what he holds dearest: his music."

Zanuck will work alongside producer John Battsek, who promised the movie will "transport audiences to each era" of Clapton's life.

He told Variety: "We have unique access to Clapton's extensive personal archive of classic performance clips, on- and off-stage footage, iconic photos, concert posters, handwritten letters, drawings and personal diary entries - elements with the power to transport audiences to each era, from obsessive student, to peer, to transcendent figure in musical history and one of the greatest guitarists of all time."


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