Will there EVER be a bio-pic?

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I don't think so...I feel like it would have happened by now if there ever was going to be one. Who knows though? Hollywood is always really desperate for ideas, and I'm sure a River Phoenix biopic idea has at least been talked about at some point.

I'm sure River's family would be really against it and refuse to participate, and do everything in their power to shut it down. But then again, Aaliyah's family refused to participate in the Lifetime Original Movie based on her life. They also tried to have it shut down entirely, but Lifetime still went ahead with it and made it anyway.

I wonder who could play him. If it ever happens, it should be a look-a-like unknown.

I don't think he will ever get a biopic, to be honest.

I agree with coastin_on_a_dream. I would love one but even if there was one it probably wouldn't be good. You really need the family involved for it to be good. For instance, the biopic of the tejano star Selena was really good because her family was heavily involved and the Aaliyah one wasn't because of lack of family involvement.

I tend to think he won't get a biopic.

Am not a fan of them anyway, but River Phoenix's level of stardom when he died wasn't exactly huge. Put it this way, when Phoenix died, the amount of media attention his passing got wasn't even NEAR the amount Kurt Cobain got 6 months later.

Am not referring to his level of artistic ability or whatever, but in commercial terms post Stand By Me the pictures River played a featured role in didn't exactly light the box office on fire, and the ones that sold the most tickets tended to be the ones where Phoenix was in a large, ensemble cast. Again, this isn't a reflection of his worth as an actor to me, but let's be realistic: the 3rd Indiana Jones movie didn't make 100 million + dollars because River was in the intro. And films like Silent Tongue, Dogfight, Thing Called Love and even My Own Private Idaho weren't drawing filmgoers in droves to theaters. To reiterate, this isn't about quality, but just the nature of the films he was in. And I don't really see where Dark Blood was going to be a huge commercial success, nor do I think River's lack of participation in Interview With A Vampire made much of a difference in the box office receipts for that film, either. The trajectory his career had isn't really one that would make me think a financier would consider a biopic something that would be a lucrative venture, because it's not as if [River] has become even more famous or iconic after his death a la Monroe or James Dean.

That being said, I wouldn't mind a well-done documentary in which a wide variety of people that knew Phoenix (including family, friends, etc.) participated in contributing. Not some whitewash about his life, but not some 'docudrama' that focused on, say, re-enactments of his death or his drug use. Just something balanced and human.

Good question. Maybe Emile Hirsch a few years ago, but an up and coming indie actor might be preferable now.

Who wants to live forever?

I always thought Michael Pitt would be a good choice to play River, but as he is now in his thirties he is a tad too old.