If getting an equally enigmatic but well known actor was a requisite for filling the title role for a movie about music producer Phil Spector, Al Pacino was probably on a very short list. The fact he landed the role bodes well for the as yet untitled film being developed for HBO Films by director Barry Levinson (Diner, The Natural, Tin Men, Good Morning Vietnam, Rain Man, Wag The Dog) and Pulitzer Prize winning writer David Mamet  (Glengarry Glen Ross, The Verdict, Wag The Dog). Pacino seems well-suited to nail the kind of eccentric, maniacal and often tyranical character traits attributed to a man many credit with having the most creative minds on the mixing board side of the glass in music history. Spector's Wall Of Sound helped him rule the Top 40 charts of the early 60's. He was behind more than 25 charted hits during the first 5 years of the decade.  Always craving attention but never comfortable in the spotlight, Spector became increasingly reclusive after marrying Veronica Bennett, lead singer of the Ronettes, one of his most prolific groups.  Other than a cameo appearance as a drug dealer in the movie  Easy Rider, Spector spent most of the late 60's under the radar. 
 He emerged in 1970 to produce John Lennon's Instant Karma!, staying on to cobble together songs from the Get Back sessions to create the Beatles album that became Let It Be, and later worked on George Harrison's All Things Must Pass and subsequent Lennon and Harrison albums. A 1974 car wreck that nearly cost him his life started another period of inactivity that broke when he was recruited to produce the 1980 Ramones album End Of The Century.  Stories emerged about erratic behavior and guns during those sessions.  His 1989 induction into the Rock Hall Of Fame became one of the last good developments in Spector's life.  In February of 2003 an actress was shot and killed at his house near LA.  Spector claimed it was a case of what the called accidental suicide. Prosecutors disagreed after obtaining reports from other women that Spector had detained them at gunpoint. His first trial ended with a hung jury in the fall of 2007.  The second returned a guilty verdict on March 29, 2009, resulting in a 19-Life sentence.
 Given Pacino's age (70), expect the movie to center on the later years in his life, with flashbacks to earlier times.  It will be fascinating to see whether the producers obtain Spector's cooperation in the project.  With no prospect for parole before he turns 88, Spector could view this as his only chance to spin his legacy.
 Guardian.co.uk   NYTimes.com
 
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