Really? Robert Pattinson to Play Kurt Cobain? Really!?

I recently heard (and I hope this is just an internet rumor) that Robert Pattinson will be portraying Kurt Cobain in a movie about the Nirvana frontman's life. I was at first excited about this news. I thought that it was long overdue for a film about the life of one of the most influential musicians of the last twenty years. I thought it would be good to see what Kurt Cobain was all about, more than just the music, more than the tragic death. I was hoping to get a movie that explains Cobain as a person, and not just a pawn of the music industry. I wanted to see his rise to fame and his struggle to deal with it. I was excited to see the full story of the world's most reluctant, most misunderstood rock star. I then said to myself "Robert Pattinson? Hmm, where have I heard that name?" and proceeded to look him up on Wikipedia. I realized that he is the actor who plays Eward Cullen in the Twilight movies, and just like that, all my excitement for this movie was gone faster than the Millennium Falcon's departure from Tattooine.

I honestly do not understand this one. I know that at the end of the day, Hollywood producers just want to make money, but is turning Kurt Cobain into a sparkling vampire really the right thing to do? They have their target audiences all wrong. The people who get excited about Twilight and Edward Cullen and those stupid movies and books are not the same people who would want to see a movie paying tribute to Nirvana's music and Kurt Cobain's life and legacy. Cobain wanted nothing to do with the mainstream music scene. His fame and success scared him. He would be rolling in his grave if he knew that he was being portrayed by Edward Cullen.

I have been thinking about other alternatives to Pattinson. At first I thought any actor would be a better choice. Narrowing it down a bit, I thought that Leonardo DiCaprio would be a good choice. He is experienced and more talented than Pattinson, but I thought he would be too recognizable from other famous roles. To do a biographical movie like this right, it is probably best to cast a lesser known actor, perhaps even an up-and-coming musician, to really capture the character. Regardless, the casting decision they have apparently made is not a good one and it will not be able to win over the true Nirvana fans.

In the beginning of high school, Nirvana was practically the soundtrack of my life. It was the bridge between my classic rock phase and getting into modern alternative rock. That music made up for what it lacked in polish with a strong passion and intensity. The story of Nirvana is something that is too special to be ruined by anything involving Twilight. They already ruined vampires and werewolves, and now they're ruining Nirvana? (I thought they would at least ruin zombies first) They probably will make it a teenage comedy called "Smells Like Teen Spirit" for all I know.

Hopefully, this movie will either not be made or flop, so they can make a better version with a better casting job.