Is Depp a Greenlighter? Pink Floyd fans hope he Shines On

According to a recent interview with comingsoon.net, Johnny Depp told a reporter that he is interested in making a movie about original Pink Floyd lead singer/guitarist/songwriter/founder Syd Barrett. This could be great news for Pink Floyd fans as every thing Depp seems to touch these days turns gold. Of course, Depp specifically said he wanted to make a movie about a rock and roller, and he thought that Syd would be a good choice.

For those with pre-Dark Side impaired knowledge of Pink Floyd, Syd Barrett was the primary force in the evolution of the influential band from R+B cover band to pyschadelic darlings of the underground. He wrote or co-wrote all but one song on their debut album, The Piper At the Gates of Dawn, as well as their first three singles. In many people's eyes, he was Pink Floyd (he named the band after two relatively obscure bluesmen, crafted their image, and designed their first album cover). Syd's quick breakdown after the success of the Floyd is legendary in England. He would stand on stage playing the same chord for 40 minutes, give interviews where he just stared into the camera ("with eyes like black holes in the sky" as Waters put it in the the 1975 song "Shine On You Crazy Diamond"), or not show up at all. Certainly Syd's routine of constant hallucinogenic drug use did not help the matter, but mostly he was crumbling under the pressures of being "the next projected sound of 1967" as the record compnay was pushing.

By the time Pink Floyd was recording their second album, David Gilmour had been recruited (to play and sing when Syd didn't feel like it) and Roger Waters was writing a majority of the songs (or co-writing). One day, on the way to a gig, they decided not to pick Syd up, and that was it. He was pushed out of the band he had created. He does appear in several places on A Saucerful of Secrets, but more importantly his legacy would haunt Pink Floyd for years serving as the inspiration for the album Wish You Were Here, the character of Pink in the Wall, the song Brain Damage/Eclipse from Dark Side and countless others. He recorded two solo albums in 1969/70 with the help of all the the Floyds but has basically disappeared since, living alone in his boyhood town of Cambridge with his mother.

Syd's story is tragic, and worthy of being told. The current buzz amongst Pink Floyd fans is the Depp would be great (and that Richard Gere should play an older Waters). Myself, well, Syd has a strong place in my heart ... I honestly don't know if he would want a movie made about him. He has tried to distance himself from his past for the last 35 years, frightened almost by his legacy. According to a recent (last 10 years) radio interview with his brother-in-law, he is doing well and does not like to talk about 'his band.'

Of course, I'd also like to write a movie about Syd Barrett, as I've said to Erin on several occasions, so I'm a bit biased.