Shailene Woodley has opened up about feeling “vulnerable” doing vocals for the upcoming biopic Janis Joplin: Get It While You Can.
As was announced last year, Woodley is set to star in and produce a film charting the life of Joplin, who died at age 27 in 1970 from a heroin overdose. She was a singular force in the psychedelic rock scene, with the bluesy grit to her voice making her a standout.
With pre-production on the long-gestating project ongoing, Woodley has now told People that singing for the role was one of the hardest elements of stepping into Joplin’s shoes.
“Singing is very scary. It’s very vulnerable,” she admitted.
She is working alongside 4 Non Blondes’ Linda Perry on the feature, and has described her as “an incredible songwriter, singer and music producer”.
Speaking to EW last September, Perry said she was thrilled to see Joplin’s story brought to the screen after “waiting decades for this movie to be made”. She also described Woodley’s “emotional commitment and dedication” to the role as inspiring, saying she “lives for the art”.
▪Shailene Woodley as Janis Joplin in ‘Get It While You Can’, Unknown release date.
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“I can’t think of a better person to portray such a powerful, emotional, and complex artist,” she added.
As for embodying Joplin’s style, Woodley has also told Jimmy Fallon that they were given access to clothes from the era for the film, saying, “We have the outfits. Everything.”
The long-awaited feature received $2.49 million in funding from the California Film Commission, and Woodley said in a statement that it was significant given California “meant so much” to Joplin.
“I have a feeling Janis would be smiling ear to ear, zipping down the PCH in her psychedelic Porsche, knowing her story is bringing opportunities and funding to the city and people that held so much significance to her.”
There have been several attempts made to develop a biopic about the legendary singer previously, with Amy Adams, Zooey Deschanel, Pink and Melissa Etheridge among those attached at one point to play Joplin in films that never got to production.
Back in 2023, Margot Robbie also expressed an interest in portraying the rock star, telling NME: “I think everyone has been trying to do a Janis Joplin [movie] for a long time.”
At the time of writing, Janis Joplin: Get It While You Can has not yet been given an official release date.
