When this was first announced that Al Pacino would play Phil Spector, I wondered who was going to play Beatles John Lennon and George Harrison. Spector produced landmark solo albums for both.

Playwright David Mamet will be writing and directing the script, no less, for HBO. Spector, from his days with Ike and Tina Turner to The Beatles and everything in between is a somewhat muddled mess.

The diminutive Spector produced some of the best songs of all time, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” comes to mind, but the rumors, innuendo, and irrefutable facts, point to a supremely talented but deeply flawed individual.

His “Wall of Sound” production was pure genius, but his personal life was demented.

Spector, 70, is currently serving 19 years to life in prison for the second-degree murder of actress Lana Clarkson. And, don’t even get me started on what he did to poor Ronnie Spector!

Oscar-award winning Director Barry Levinson will executive produce the film.

Pacino and Levinson just collaborated on the HBO-telepic on euthanasia doctor Jack Kevorkian. Though the script was somewhere between good and not-so-good, Pacino was superlative.

I wonder just how much input Pacino will have in the development of the script. I’m thinking he will, because he’ll view this film as his next big production!

My Fathers Place Remembered in Photos

Remember when we tipped you off several columns back exclusively that a book was coming on the early rock club from Long Island called My Father’s Place?

Well, now there’s an official title (Fun And Dangerous) and barring any last minute changes, it will be finally be available at the next installment of the Long Island Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

The event, created by James Faith, will be held Nov. 11 in Huntington on Long Island.

According to an inside source, the book, featuring photos by such ace rock photographers as Gary Gershoff and Ebet Roberts, has bypassed the traditional route of going to a proper publisher. As such, this book will be available via a web site MyFathersPlace.

“There are some terrific never before-seen-photos, and a great forward by MTV’s Kurt Loder and Steve Van Zandt of that bygone, yet pivotal point in music history,” says PR-guru David Salidor, who grew up in Long Island and actually worked at the club in its heyday.

“The pictures are terrific, but if they do a proper follow-up they should really go into what made the club tick and how it became an essential piece of any emerging band back in the day, from Blondie to The Talking Heads to Springsteen.

Believe me, it’s some story! They’ll never be anything like it again.”

Bee Gees, Phil Collins New on Eagle Rock DVDs

Carol Kaye reports that the folks at Eagle Rock video will be releasing two DVDs in the coming weeks that appear to be must haves: The Bee Gees: In Our Own Time and Phil Collins, Going Home-Live At Roseland.

The Bee Gees have been around for such an incredible amount of time that they have, in my opinion, gotten somewhat lost in the shuffle. But, if you’re old enough to remember their work on “Saturday Night Fever” you know what am impact they had on the music world.

Remember, this group was big even before that. Short story: They were in the studio with producer Arif Mardin and he asked Barry Gibb if he could sing in a higher register? History was made with his terrific falsetto.

They’re still making music now. Collins on the other hand, has sort of reprised the Motown-sound with this latest show and album.

Both should be terrifically good.

Short Takes: Cars’ Rick Ocasek, Goo Goo Dolls Return

Can the original Cars actually be back? It would appear so with this snippet of their new single “Blue Tip” via Faebook. I caught their almost-reunion several years back with Todd Rundgren and though it was good, it was more Todd than Ric Ocasek, their regular and rather mysterious front man. This sounds great, can’t wait for the full recording.

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And, finally, the new CD from the Goo Goo Dolls is here, entitled Something For The Rest Of Us. Their single “Home” is here as well as another awesome track called “One Night.”

Names In The News:

George Fabian, Elizabth Mascali, Dawn Sandomeno, Victor Kastel, Randy Alexander, Heidi Klum, Steve Schrippia, Mark Bego, Rutledge, Cindy W. Williams, George Hess, Rachael Robbins, Ed Buciarelli, Jodi Mellman, James Edstrom, Tom & Lisa Cuddy, Chip!