INXS’ Michael Hutchence Celebrated in Upcoming Film Doc
Magnetic INXS frontman Michael Hutchence, who died in 1997, will be the focus of a new feature-length documentary produced by Universal Music Group and Oscar-winning production company Passion Pictures (Searching for Sugar Man). Australian filmmaker Richard Lowenstein, the Australian filmmaker who collaborated with INXS on several music videos including “What You Need,” will direct the film.
“I have been working on the definitive documentary film journey into the heart and soul of this complex, shy, poetic and exceptionally charismatic man for many years,” Lowenstein said in a statement. “To be able to embark on this film now with such great partners as UMG, UK’s Passion Pictures, Ghost Pictures, [longtime INXS manager] Chris [Murphy] and INXS is extremely exciting and I know that together we are going to tell this story like no one else can.”
INXS formed in 1977 in Australia, reaching massive chart success in the Eighties with singles like 1985’s “What You Need” and 1987’s “Need You Tonight.” In November 1997, Hutchence was found dead in a Sydney hotel room, and his death was ruled a suicide. INXS later recruited a new singer through a reality show competition but officially broke up in 2012.
“Michael Hutchence was a musical genius who led one of the world’s biggest bands to global stardom, only to succumb to a tragic end,” David Blackman, UMG’s head of film and television development and production, said in a statement. “We have assembled an incredible team that is committed to telling Michael’s story and providing the world with a portrait of a man who left behind an enduring musical and cultural legacy.”
Hutchence’s daughter, Tiger Lily, will be a beneficiary of the documentary’s proceeds. The film is expected to hit theaters at the end of 2017, Billboard reports.