Major Labels

“Wire” Producers To Bring Record Industry To HBO. Who Should Play The Roles?

The producers of the hit HBO series 'The Wire'' have purchased the rights to Rolling Stone journalist Steve Knopper's "Appetite for Self-Destruction: The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age". 

The book chronicles 30 years of the record industry; in particular the free fall in sales over the last 5. "It's a rise and fall story of a once, very incredibly healthy, great, rich, throwing its weight and money around kind of industry, that is no longer quite as grand," the writer told the BBC:

But who should play key music industry figures in the new show? Here are my nominations:

image from tmottgogo.com image from tvtropes.org

Warner Music Group executive Lyor Cohen should be portrayed by rapper Eminem. In fact, they could reverse roles and play each other. Runner up: 50 Cent. It's always seemed to me that Lyor wished he were black.

image from news.gotgame.com image from upload.wikimedia.org WMG CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. seems like a perfect fit for The Partidge Family's Danny Boneduce. After all, at some points in their careers each has had to pretend that they knew something about music and neither has played their more recent roles very well.

image from nymag.com image from www.theage.com.au

Universal Music CEO Doug Morris, whose misjudgment of how to handle the original Napster plays a central role in the book, is a perfect fit for Soprano's star James Grandolfini

image from newsroom.cisco.com image from cm1.theinsider.comIs it just me or is there a striking resemblance between long time record industry player and current Interscope head Jimmy Iovine and Billy Bob Thorton?

image from www.hypebot.com image from www.virginmedia.com Unfortunately EMI CEO Elio Leoni-Sceti is too new at his job to be in the book because his boyish looks could easily be captured by Neil Patrick Harris.  And isn't there something poetic about Doogie Howser running one of the world's largest record labels?

What actors do you think should portray the music industry's top players?

Share on:

7 Comments

  1. HBO should save the money and play a Three Stooges marathon in that timeslot instead; pretty much sums it up.

  2. Craig Kallman – Matthew Broderick
    Daniel Glass – The Snow Miser
    Rick Rubin – Zach Galifianakis
    Charlie Walk – Jeremy Piven

  3. Robert Altman should direct a docutainment picture on Lenny Waronker and Mo Ostin’s final days at the helm of Warner Bros and about their DreamWorks adventure, with lots of rock star cameos. I’m thinking of a “Pret-A-Porter” of the music world.
    And that mention of Billy Bob Thornton playing Jimmy Iovine had me thinking that a Billy Bob Thornton album, produced by Jimmy Iovine, could actually bring out the best in those two guys

Comments are closed.