“Appetite” to see the big screen

News came about yesterday that Appetite for Self-Destruction will be getting a screen treatment.  Steve Knopper, Denver-based Rolling Stone business correspondent, released his book a year ago.  Now the tale is being told by the producers of HBO’s The Wire.

Here is the scoop, according to Paste Magazine:

Producers of The Wire will soon focus on the downfalls and digital downloads characterizing today’s music industry.

The inspiration is Appetite for Self-Destruction: The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age, a book written by Rolling Stonecontributing editor Steve Knopper.Appetite for Self-Destruction chronicles a 30-year history, starting with the downfall of disco, ending with the rise of digital downloads, and trekking through the battle with Napster and decline of CD sales along the way.

As Knopper revealed recently on his blog,American Beauty producer Bob Cooper first called saying he wanted to option the rights to HBO for a film, before Spinner reported that The Wireproducers hope to create a television drama.

Once the television network purchased the rights, HBO enlisted playwright Victoria Stewart, 2007 Francesca Primus Prize winner, as the screenwriter. Stewart’s adaption is said to focus first and foremost on Sony Music executives mentioned early on in Knopper’s work.

Appetite for Self-Destruction was released last January, years after Knopper began reporting on the business aspect of the music industry, including victims of digital-download lawsuits.

Thinking about how the producers could turn this non-fiction text into a full blown epic, I can only imagine that it will be the first movie of its kind.  Narratives of the music industry up until now have been about a world of glitz and glamor surrounding otherwise damaged musicians.  Furthermore, this kind of exposure could give the music-enjoying public a fresh perspective on the trials and tribulations that music industry professionals have to endure to keep their industry alive.

We will definitely be watching this development closely.