Al Pacino won’t meet Phil Spector, even though he is playing the famed record producer and convicted killer in an HBO movie.
Pacino’s movie, Phil Spector, debuts in March and focuses on the relationship between the music legend and his attorney, Linda Kenney Baden. She represented Spector in his trial when he was charged with the murder of actress Lana Clarkson. The trial ended in a mistrial, but he was tried again and convicted of murder, and is now spending 19 years to life in prison.
Though Pacino won’t meet with Spector to research the role, the actor did go all out in portraying the music legend, The Associated Press noted .
The report noted:
“Pacino wore a dizzying array of wigs in his portrayal of the eccentric Spector, whose “Wall of Sound” style was an integral part of pop music in the early 1960s. The actor said he decided not to meet Spector in prison because he’d be a different man than the one Pacino is portraying, who had not yet been convicted of a crime.
“He watched video clips of Spector to help him with his portrayal.”
Director David Mamet also knew Spector well, Reuters noted. The director’s agent told Mamet he needed to watch a documentary about Spector, but the playwright said he already knew enough about the notorious music producer with the wild hair.
Though Pacino won’t met Spector for his latest role, the actor and music producer have crossed paths in the past. A friend showed Pacino a 20-year-old picture of the two men standing side by side — Pacino said he has no recollection of it.
