A Merle Haggard Biopic Movie Called “Done It All” Is In The Works
Merle Haggard is gone, but he won’t be forgotten. A week after his death, word has come down that a motion picture about his life is in the works.
GMH Productions has optioned a script about the life of Merle Haggard called Done It All, written by screenwriter Cliff Hollingsworth who is best known for writing the critically-acclaimed motion picture Cinderella Man from 2005. The movie is being developed in part by a man named Carl Cooper, who was hand-selected by Haggard to develop the biopic with Hollingsworth. The title Done It All is derived from the Merle Haggard song “I’ve Done It All.” According to Deadline who broke the story, the script is complete, and producers will soon be on the hunt for actors and a director.
The script reportedly follows Merle Haggard’s from his childhood in poverty, all the through the rise of his career from a struggling artist to a superstar. The film will also touch on Merle’s personal life. The project originated with producer Donald Kushner who reached out to Cliff Hollingsworth to write the script. Originally Kushner wanted to hire Hollingsworth for the job, but the screenwriter decided to write it on spec, meaning he would write the script and attempt to sell it later. GMH Productions is partially owned by Cliff Hollingsworth’s brother Mike, as well as film industry veteran Abraham Gordon.
READ: 300 to 400 Unreleased Merle Haggard Songs Remain in an Archive
Merle Haggard died on April 6th, his 79th birthday, after suffering from complications due to a double pneumonia first diagnosed in December of 2015. The Country Music Hall of Famer had a total of 38 #1 hits, despite growing up in a house constructed from a boxcar, and spending time in San Quentin Prison for petty crimes. Merle saw Johnny Cash perform his first prison concert in 1958, and was inspired to pursue a career in country music. Merle would go on to be considered one of the greatest country music singers and songwriters of all time.
April 12, 2016 @ 6:40 pm
Oh cool this sounds interesting, I hope if this gets made and released that it doesn’t become a flop. If this one succeeds then that can mean there is hope they would make a better received Hank biopic and make that Waylon Jennings biopic I still look forward too(hopefully with Jeromy Renner cause I’m shamelessly a MCU fan and I can say hey Loki and Hawkeye moonlighted as country singers :P) in the near future.
Sorry if I’m sounding too optimistic but yeah lol. Just what I’m thinking lol and I apologize for my geeking a bit about the MCU.
April 12, 2016 @ 7:07 pm
It’s ok, I’m an MCU geek too. Fox needs to sell the F4 rights back to Marvel so they can be done right and be part of the MCU.
April 12, 2016 @ 7:17 pm
Yeah, the MCU would do them right I believe based on how they did the other superheroes like Deadpool and such. Marvel do tend to make the characters in general really good and handle them well.
April 15, 2016 @ 12:42 pm
The X-Men film franchise still resides with 20th Century Fox, as does the Fantastic Four film franchise (though with the reboot of the latter tanking last year it wouldn’t surprise me if this changes in the near future). Deadpool is considered an X-Men character, therefore Fox had the rights and they produced the film. It wasn’t associated with the MCU at all, save for the originating comic book company. Marvel Studios isn’t even allowed to utter the word “mutant” in their films, hence why Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch weren’t Magneto’s kids in Age of Ultron.
April 14, 2016 @ 5:53 am
Such a deep and complicated life as Merle Haggard, I doubt they can fit it all in 90 min.
April 12, 2016 @ 7:09 pm
Should have happened yesrs ago, they waited until he died. He was a living legend.
April 12, 2016 @ 7:22 pm
For all we know they may have purposely waited until Merle died. Seems interesting this news comes out a week after his death.
April 12, 2016 @ 8:00 pm
I think it’s good that they waited for him to die, that way they can tell his whole story.
If they screw this up like “I Saw the Light” i’ll be pissed- Merle deserves better. Of course, so did Hank.
April 13, 2016 @ 6:14 am
It smacks a bit of exploitation. However, Merle WAS involved so I assume it wasn’t entirely to take advantage of the press.
April 13, 2016 @ 8:48 am
Well it’s not like it’s some big news story. I was super excited to hear about it. But gauging from the interest this story has gotten, the general public is non plused by the news. Possiblly because they’re still leery after “I Saw The Light.”
April 13, 2016 @ 12:16 pm
Yeah, but if I don’t play Salty Devil’s Advocate, no one will 😛
I myself don’t have much use for biopics as films. It’s good that they increase exposure of the artist, but the tendency to alter details always leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
April 13, 2016 @ 12:38 pm
Going absolutely by the book very well may have been the demise of “I Saw The Light.” That doesn’t mean you have to be fictitious or embellish the story. It’s more about having an eye for a story arc, and then being able to translate that into film. The hard facts in chronological order are for documentaries. A biopic is expected to take at least a little bit of artistic license.
April 13, 2016 @ 2:12 pm
One can be creative within the confines of a good script. And surely you wouldn’t assert that the lives of many biopic-worthy country stars don’t have events that could be construed as overarching themes/plot. As has been lamented time and again at this point, the fault of I Saw the Light was amateurism behind the camera and holding the pen. If they could get an established or promising director to take this on it could be great without altering anything.
Perhaps adhering to the cold hard facts isn’t a popular desire, but I don’t like the idea of watching a biopic and knowing I’m being fed hogwash at certain parts. True, documentaries follow a straight path through the lives of their subjects. But the reason a person watches a biopic is not only to learn about the person, but to observe the drama of their life as it unfolds. Biopics can take place at moments when no camera was present; they show rather than tell. I’m not saying the dialogue has to be 100% on par with what witnesses say or something, but films like these love to make up characters and stuff to “add” to the film. They often work, but again, I don’t like the idea of “creative license” with facts. What’s the point in making a biopic, particularly one that’s intended to both inform and inspire a new generation of Hag fans, if it’s less than accurate? Are the man and his story not interesting enough as is? Same goes for the subject of every other biopic.
April 12, 2016 @ 7:13 pm
I don’t even have a guess who could be casted as Hag
April 12, 2016 @ 8:05 pm
Hmmm… yeah, that’s a tough one.
April 12, 2016 @ 8:56 pm
I thought maybe Scott Eastwood….not sure if he can sing.
April 13, 2016 @ 8:35 am
Maybe Tim McGraw
I kid!
June 3, 2017 @ 4:17 pm
I would be a fantastic Merle Haggard !!!
December 5, 2018 @ 8:10 pm
I sang merle songs in a band for years love him
April 13, 2016 @ 2:22 am
PLEASE don’t fuck this one up.
April 13, 2016 @ 4:21 am
Pretty sure everyone here saw the headline and immediately thought “they better not screw this one up as well”
Cinderella Man was very well done, so I’m hoping for similar results
April 13, 2016 @ 4:57 am
Hopefully Merle left detailed, ironclad requirements, so we can avoid a repeat debacle that I imagine going something like this:
GMH Productions announces Sir Patrick Stewart of X-Men fame as their choice to portray the legendary country music singer Merle Haggard in the upcoming biopic Done It All.
The film”™s music producer, Radney Foster, has nothing but praise for the choice.
“I”™m as respectful of the man”™s work ethic as I”™m mystified by his transformational skills,” Foster says of Stewart. “Without a doubt, the filmmakers chose the right actor for the job.”
April 13, 2016 @ 5:33 am
I think Chris Pratt could do a decent Merle
April 13, 2016 @ 8:52 am
He’d just have to learn to look heartbroken and weary.
April 13, 2016 @ 9:26 am
Oh yeah thats a sweet image, Star Lord playing Merle lol. That’ll be really intereting to see!
April 13, 2016 @ 7:31 pm
Chris Pratt couldn’t hold up Hag’s jockstrap
April 13, 2016 @ 7:39 am
Let’s hope Marc Abraham and Sony stay far away from this one!
April 13, 2016 @ 8:27 am
I wish they let F/X do it. Make it a mini-series like they did with OJ. You can’t sum up this mans life in a 90 minute movie.The movie would probably be like the Cash movie where about 10% is true,90% not so much.
April 13, 2016 @ 5:06 pm
I think Walter Goggins from Justified, would be a great younger Merle. They look so much alike!
April 13, 2016 @ 6:22 pm
If they are going to make this movie, I hope that “Done It All” is just a “working” title and they pick a more suitable one. Yes, it’s from a Merle song, but a fairly obscure one that was not even a single. It’s a trite, common phrase that does not evoke Haggard. If they want to use a song title–or part of one–then “Branded Man,” “Sing Me Back Home,” “Pride In What I Am,” or “Working Man Blues” all say “Haggard” a lot more sharply. (I’m leaving out “Oakie” because Merle was from California.)
At least “The Jazz Singer,” “Lady Sings the Blues,” “Bound for Glory,” “Walk the Line” and “I Saw the Light” all had titles that evoke their subjects.
April 18, 2016 @ 7:52 pm
I think the title has got to be “Mama Tried”
April 13, 2016 @ 8:08 pm
I wish Clint Eastwood was involved. First he is one of the greatest living directors around and more importantly he was a friend of Merle……i guess we have to trust Merle and the team involved. I look forward to the story.
April 24, 2016 @ 8:42 am
I sure hope this turns out and I hope merel left some good behind …and it’s sad that ppl won’t to do bios and movies of ppl when there gone ….I don’t like lies we won’t full honesty and there’s no one that could even come close to fitting in merels place…just like George Jones no one can fill anyone’s place…I just hope it will be good
February 4, 2017 @ 2:34 am
Can’t wait to see the movie, Merle was my favorite country singer, there are none better. I think Tim Allen should play his part.
May 5, 2017 @ 5:57 pm
Hollingsworth was approached by Donald Kushner, the producer that originally had the idea for a movie on Haggard’s life.
April 28, 2019 @ 7:28 pm
What about Scott Eastwood for young, Brad Cooper for Middle age and Clint Eastwood for older?