Known best for her collaborations with Andy Warhol and the Velvet Underground, Nico is now set to be the subject of an upcoming biopic.
Variety reports that Susanna Nicchiarelli's Nico, 1988 will begin shooting in Italy on November 7. Nico will be played by Denmark's Trine Dyrholm, with a supporting cast that includes Anamaria Marinca (4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days), Karina Fernandez (Happy Go Lucky), Fabrizio Rongione, Sandor Funteck (Blue Is the Warmest Color) and Calvin Demba.
The film will explore the later stages of Nico's life, starting in 1987 when the cult figure embarks on a tour of Europe at age 48 while in the midst of a heroin addiction. As the tour moves along, she cleans up and quits drugs. Nico died in 1988 at 49 while vacationing on the Mediterranean island of Ibiza.
"Most people think, as Andy Warhol once said, that after her experience with Velvet Underground and the Factory — and after having had sex with most of the rock stars of those years — Nico simply 'became a fat junkie' and disappeared," Nicchiarelli explained in a statement. "But is this how her life really went?"
Variety also reports that Nicchiarelli's film will draw on interviews with Ari and Nico's late-career manager Alan Wise. The film is also said to use flashbacks and dreamlike sequences. Dyrholm will also perform Nico's original songs from the era for the production.
"The entire film is constructed following the inspiration of Nico's music: her performances and the lyrics of her songs," Nicchiarelli said. "It will tell us more than any other dialogue or situation in the film."
Nico, 1988 will be co-produced by Italy's Vivo Film and Belgium's Tarantula, with financing from Rai Cinema, Belgian fund Wallimage and Italy's new Lazio International Fund.
Variety reports that Susanna Nicchiarelli's Nico, 1988 will begin shooting in Italy on November 7. Nico will be played by Denmark's Trine Dyrholm, with a supporting cast that includes Anamaria Marinca (4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days), Karina Fernandez (Happy Go Lucky), Fabrizio Rongione, Sandor Funteck (Blue Is the Warmest Color) and Calvin Demba.
The film will explore the later stages of Nico's life, starting in 1987 when the cult figure embarks on a tour of Europe at age 48 while in the midst of a heroin addiction. As the tour moves along, she cleans up and quits drugs. Nico died in 1988 at 49 while vacationing on the Mediterranean island of Ibiza.
"Most people think, as Andy Warhol once said, that after her experience with Velvet Underground and the Factory — and after having had sex with most of the rock stars of those years — Nico simply 'became a fat junkie' and disappeared," Nicchiarelli explained in a statement. "But is this how her life really went?"
Variety also reports that Nicchiarelli's film will draw on interviews with Ari and Nico's late-career manager Alan Wise. The film is also said to use flashbacks and dreamlike sequences. Dyrholm will also perform Nico's original songs from the era for the production.
"The entire film is constructed following the inspiration of Nico's music: her performances and the lyrics of her songs," Nicchiarelli said. "It will tell us more than any other dialogue or situation in the film."
Nico, 1988 will be co-produced by Italy's Vivo Film and Belgium's Tarantula, with financing from Rai Cinema, Belgian fund Wallimage and Italy's new Lazio International Fund.
