New Hank Williams “I Saw The Light” Biopic Coming
***UPDATE (9-7): Tom Hiddleston Gives First Impression of Hank Williams Role in “I Saw The Light”
Country music legend Hank Williams will be getting a brand new retrospective in an upcoming movie called I Saw The Light that will be based off of the Colin Escott biography of Hank’s life, and directed and written by Marc Abraham, an American film producer known for such movies as Spy Game and most recently The Man With The Iron Fists. English actor Tom Hiddleston, known best for his work in recent Marvel Comics movies such as Thor and The Avengers, has been cast in the leading role as Hank Williams.
Production of the film is set to start in Louisiana in October, and the film’s producers have reportedly struck a deal with Sony ATV, who owns the rights to all of Hank’s songs, to use his iconic compositions in the film. It is a co-production between Bron Studios, RatPac Entertainment, and Creative Wealth Media Finance according to deadline.com, with Marc Abraham, Brett Ratner, and G. Marq Rosell all being listed as producers, and James Packer as executive producer.
The biopic film on Hank Williams has been rumored for quite some time, with director Marc Abaraham being quoted previously that the film has been his top priority. Tom Hiddleston, who is currently in the midst of filming another movie, is said to be practicing to perform the songs “Your Cheatin’ Heart”, “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” and “Hey Good Lookin’” in the film.
Unlike other films about Hank Williams such as the small-budget The Last Ride released in 2012 about the final few days of Hank’s life, or the 1964 musical Your Cheatin’ Heart where Hank was played by George Hamilton and it took a more theatrical take on tHank, all indications are that I Saw The Light will be a more proper biopic in the vein of the award-winning Johnny Cash film Walk The Line from 2005 that revitalized interest in the singer’s career.
Stay tuned as more information about this important film becomes available.
Tom Hiddleston tweeted out the below photo simply saying “I Saw The Light” yesterday.
READ: Tom Hiddleston Gives First Impression of Hank Williams Role in “I Saw The Light”
June 13, 2014 @ 10:19 am
Now that’s a flick I’ve been waiting years for. And having seen both The Last Ride and Your Cheatin’ Heart I hope it lives up to the potential that Hank’s life offers.
June 13, 2014 @ 11:07 am
How was The Last Ride?? I have never gotten around to seeing it. The previews for it just seemed a little off to me, but you never know.
June 13, 2014 @ 1:23 pm
I thought it was pretty good. It wasn’t amazing and it could have been better but it’s worth seeing.
June 13, 2014 @ 7:33 pm
Agreed. With its low budget considered, it’s a pretty good flick! Been awhile since I’ve seen it but if I remember right, it focuses more on the driver than it did “Mr. Wells”.
June 13, 2014 @ 11:08 am
Trig have you ever seen Hank Williams: The Show He Never Gave?
For anyone that hasn’t I highly recommend it. It’s a fictional story that imagines Hank having his driver pull over on December 31st 1952 to play a show at a local bar. Short but phenomenal movie.
June 13, 2014 @ 12:02 pm
I own that. The production quality is only fair, but its an enjoyable flic…
June 13, 2014 @ 11:30 am
Having seen Hiddleston in some more dramatic roles, I think he has the acting chops to pull off the role. If he can sing or not remains in questions, but so far this sounds good to me. Even if I end up not liking this film, if it can expose a new generation to Hank like Walk the Line did for Cash, I’ll be happy.
June 14, 2014 @ 5:19 pm
Tom is a amazing actor and also he can sing.
Tom Hiddleston sings “Bare Necessities” alongside Christina Hendricks at the 2013 D23 Expo You tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgzZfBBWgDY
.
June 13, 2014 @ 11:49 am
It’s about dadgum time.
June 13, 2014 @ 11:50 am
Hey good lookin’, indeed. 🙂
I primarily know Tom from ‘War Horse’ and ‘Midnight in Paris,’ but I have a good feeling he can pull off something like this.
August 16, 2014 @ 2:47 pm
lolol looks??/its gonna take a lot more then that to even come CLOSE to trying to play hank. for that matter get Richard gear or even james bond to play hank if your gonna talk about looks doesn’t mean they can re invent THE FIRST AMERICAN SUPERSTAR whos music 60 something years after his death is as popular now then befor he died….remember elvis saying and pleading to play hanks first movie .your cheating heart……wich goerge hammilton didn’t do a bad job as hank…….and they said no cause they wanted someone other then elvis at the time .. guess elvis was so pop at the time they would have looked at elvis and would have thrown the whole movie off .I guess as good as elvis was it would have,.to the people been hey that’s elvis doing what he does in real life. doing a lot of hanks songs wich he did being hank was one of elvis biggest role models . but the point is will take ALOT MORE THEN LOOKS TO EVEN COME CLOSE TO DOING A PRETTY GOOD JOB AS HANK lol and who was better lookin then elvis at the time??????at least to the women then AND NOW….but im hoping he does a good job as hank ,.if ANYONE NEEDS A GREAT MOVIE ABOUT THERE LIFE ITS HANK who most consider the best singer song writer ever or at least in the top 5 of all time
June 13, 2014 @ 3:37 pm
It’s too bad Shelton ‘Hank3` Williams doesn’t have the acting background to play the part. Lord knows he looks and sings the part like nobody else can.
January 1, 2015 @ 3:58 pm
My thoughts exactly. he’s got the resemblance and the voice. I think good director can help him overcome that acting experience
June 14, 2014 @ 12:16 am
Wonderful! thise made my day !
June 14, 2014 @ 12:34 am
Yes!! Fantastic news indeed!
June 14, 2014 @ 12:38 am
He’s been good in the Marvel movies so hope this is no different.
June 14, 2014 @ 7:55 pm
Not to be a gearhead, but is there any evidence Hank ever played an Epiphone Texan, because that’s what it appears he’s holding….
January 14, 2015 @ 12:45 pm
That looks like his Martin D-28. There’s a picture of him at a San Diego radio station with his Epiphone Triumph here. http://www.epiphone.com/News/Features/News/2012/Hank-and-Epiphone-on-the-Lost-Highway.aspx
June 15, 2014 @ 7:14 pm
Loki as Hank Williams Sr? Awesome!
I like that they have a well known actor playing HW. If this is successful, Hollywood may look into making more movies about country legends, perhaps! The Johnny Cash film did well commercially and critically, and if this is any good, it will too.
Perhaps then we can get movies about folks like Waylon and Merle!
June 15, 2014 @ 7:22 pm
There is a Waylon movie in the works too, though no specifics have really surfaced about it yet.
August 14, 2014 @ 8:00 am
I just found out that I can attend the filming in Shreveport, Louisiana in October. I am so excited. Since Louisiana is now becoming “Hollywood of the South,” I hope that the Waylon Jennings movie will be filmed here. I am so excited about the Hank movie.
June 16, 2014 @ 3:26 am
Hang on…. A Billie Joe Shaver documentary…’Where Do You Want It’
June 16, 2014 @ 10:53 am
I’m sure they’ll take this film much too seriously to consider it, but I’d love to see George Hamilton put in a cameo appearance.
June 17, 2014 @ 4:55 pm
So I watched the new movie with James Hand in it last night ‘Thank You A Lot”. It started off pretty decent but then it just never went anywhere. There was all this buildup but then it just ended. I felt pretty dissapointed although it was cool to see James Hand perform and all the photos and memorabilia.
June 19, 2014 @ 10:21 am
I can’t really put into words how excited I am for this movie. He’s my all time favorite artist and I’ve always hoped that Hank Williams would get a proper biopic. It’s baffling to me that it hasn’t been done already. I just hope that it’s properly done and presents a truly accurate representation of him.
This is my favorite site and I’ve been visiting it daily for 2 years but this is the first time I’ve felt compelled to comment. Hank Williams may not be the pioneer of Country music, but he damn sure is the genre’s most important figure. And as big and as prolific as his name may be, I still feel that he’s under appreciated and hasn’t been paid the proper amount of respect that he deserves not just for his contributions to Country Music, but to most American music genres. I would have thought that at least here, at Saving Country Music and with this website’s community, there would be a fairly large amount of enthusiasm for an announcement like this. But it’s really disheartening to see a reaction only a quarter as large some this site’s top stories. I feel like we owe him more.
Anyway, keep up the great work Trigger. I love your site and anyone would be hard pressed to find a person as committed to Country Music and to spreading quality music as you are.
May 12, 2015 @ 10:22 am
Fingers crossed that a Brit can pull off the look & feel of an Alabama-born legend – you never know. Who would have guessed Kurt Russell would turn in probably the best Elvis performance ever? Either way, “Loki” is invited to appear at Hankfest: http://www.Hankfest.com.
Hank Williams Forever!
Is There Anything He Can't Do? Watch Tom Hiddleston Perform a Hank Williams Classic
September 7, 2014 @ 5:46 pm
[…] and sang Hank Williams’ “Move It On Over. Tom will be playing Hank in the upcoming biopic I Saw The Light and it sounds like he will be […]
September 27, 2014 @ 5:16 pm
Yeah I know this is a country music website but they released a movie called Jimi:All Is By My Side about Jimi Hendrix. No Jimi music in the movie though, the Hendrix family wouldn’t allow it.