Jim Jarmusch Lines Up Swinton, Fassbender And Wasikowska For A New Film; Also Prepping Doc About The Stooges

Jim Jarmusch is curating one day of the upcoming All Tomorrow's Parties festival in New York state, which takes place over Labor Day weekend. He's been sort of a fixture at ATPNY in the past; I saw him just hanging around the '08 event, and last year he performed the Neil Young song 'Cortez the Killer' in a hotel room at the fest.

One of the bands lined up for this year's edition is Iggy and the Stooges, and in a new interview, Jarmusch says he's got a documentary about the band in the works, along with a new dramatic film for which he's lined up Tilda Swinton, Michael Fassbender and Mia Wasikowska.

Pitchfork has the interview, in which the director says,

I'm working on a documentary about the Stooges. It's going to take a few years. There's no rush on it, but it's something that Iggy asked me to do. I'm co-writing an "opera." It won't be a traditional opera, but it'll be about the inventor Nikola Tesla, with the composer Phil Klein. I have a new film project that's really foremost for me that I hope to shoot early next year with Tilda Swinton and Michael Fassbender and Mia Wasikowska, who was Alice in Wonderland in Tim Burton's film. I don't have that quite financed yet, so I'm working on that.

Tilda Swinton has played roles in his last two films, Broken Flowers and The Limits of Control, and I love the idea of Jarmusch and Swinton working together again. (Especially if she gets a central role this time.) And Fassbender and Wasikowska: fantastic. Nikola Tesla is also one of my favorite historical figures; the idea of a Jarmusch opera about him blows my mind.

One other note in the interview is that Jarmusch says his band Sqürl, formerly called Bad Rabbit, will have new material to release at ATP. I absolutely love the four-song digital release of Bad Rabbit's music from The Limits of Control, so that's good news.

Finally, Jarmusch also says he invited Bill Murray to come to the fest and just hang out. I hope that happens — I've had my ATP ticket since early this year, and can't wait for the fest. If Murray is around, that'll just be a wonderful bonus.