Grab your old copies of Blue and book those flights to California, because the new Joni Mitchell biopic is officially underway. Directed by Cameron Crowe, who we have to thank for Almost Famous and Jerry Maguire, the film will document the life and career of the legendary singer-songwriter, who came to define the enduring sound of 1960s Laurel Canyon.
During an interview on The Late Show last year, the director confirmed: “We’ve been working on it for about four years. We have regular meetings where I can ask her anything, and she speaks with her heart about all kinds of stuff. It’s a movie that will be not from a distance…This is from her perspective, her life, looking out.”
“She’s kept all of her costumes, all of her clothes, all of her instruments. She’s even still the landlady of her famous house in Laurel Canyon. So this is a really personal, wonderful look at her life and music.”
Meryl Streep is set to star as the singer during her later years, while rumours are currently swirling that Anya Taylor-Joy is gearing up to play her younger counterpart. Record executive Clive Davis announced Meryl's casting at his annual pre-Grammy party in Los Angeles last week. Mamma Mia actress Amanda Seyfried has also been previously linked to the film.
What to expect from the film? With the musician’s career blossoming in 1960s California, Joni fans can safely look forward to a counterculture-infused visual spectacle, stretching from the rolling canyons of Los Angeles to the singer’s longline knit dresses and lengthy blonde tresses.
Famed for her bohemian-folk repertoire, which includes hits like A Case of You, Big Yellow Taxi, Both Sides Now and The Circle Game, Joni also emerged as a style icon while kicking back in the canyon alongside Carole King, Mama Cass, Joan Baez, Linda Ronstadt, The Bryds, Frank Zappa, Brian Wilson and Crosby, Stills & Nash - the later of which she shared a pivotal but brief romantic relationship in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In fact, the band’s beloved song Our House was written about Nash and Mitchell’s Laurel Canyon home.
Joni’s wardrobe was famously waif-like, saturated with whimsical, flowing silk dresses, shawls, embroidered linens, and wide-brimmed hats that leaned into the youthquake aesthetics of the period. She later transitioned from hippie-chic dress codes to more structured, artistic fashion, including tailored pieces from designers like Yohji Yamamoto and Issey Miyake.
While a costume designer has not been officially announced for the project just yet, fashion enthusiasts can expect an onscreen sartorial treat, one steeped in vintage nostalgia and free-spirited, beatnik brilliance.