Punk director Temple shooting Strummer documentary

Joe Strummer. Picture / Reuters

NEW YORK - Director Julien Temple, best known for the Sex Pistols films "The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle" and "The Filth & the Fury," is working on a new movie about the life and career of late Clash frontman Joe Strummer.

Via a slew of archival audio and video footage, interviews donated by journalists and recordings of Strummer's BBC Radio show, the Clash legend will essentially narrate the film.

Now in the very early stages of production, the project will also include new interviews with producer Rick Rubin, Clash guitarist Mick Jones and bassist Paul Simonon, as well as members of Strummer's pre- and post-Clash bands, the 101ers and the Mescaleros, respectively.

Temple was a longtime friend of Strummer, whom he first met during the 101ers years. He's making the film with the blessing of Strummer's widow, Lucinda.

"We didn't have a memorial concert or anything for him," Temple told Billboard.com. "So this is something that I wanted to do. Three years on, it's easier for me and all the people involved to deal with it actually."

Strummer died of a congenital heart defect in December 2002, just three months before the Clash was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The following year, his third album with the Mescaleros was released.

Strummer's honesty is what makes him a great film subject, according to Temple. "He was very connected to other human beings, and he never lost that in the way some stars do," he said. "He believed that music could change people's lives, and he proved that in a way that most people don't get near. He touched all types of people all over the world, and that came from his honesty and his warmth."

- REUTERS/BILLBOARD