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Ritchie Valens will be introduced to a new generation of viewers. It was announced today that a team of filmmakers are remaking "La Bamba," the award-winning biopic that explored the life of the rock and roll icon.
Variety reports that the film will be produced by Mucho Mas Media and Sony Pictures, with Luis Valdes, the original film's director and writer, to be featured as the film's executive producer. The writer Jose Rivera is attached to the script. Previous credits include "On The Road," "Letters to Juliette," and "The Motorcycle Diaries."
"La Bamba" is inspired by the life of Ritchie Valens, following the Mexican-American musician's rise to fame, beginning when he was 17 years old and working as a field laborer as he gradually rose to the charts and became a musical icon. Despite his great success and legacy, with hits that include "Donna" and "La Bamba," Valens died in a plane crash at 17.
He died alongside musicians Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper, with the tragedy later being known as "The Day The Music Died."
"La Bamba" came out in 1987 and was a great success, earning nominations at the Golden Globes for Best Drama and earning a Best Song nomination for the Grammys in 1988.
More details about the upcoming film
Valdez shared a statement discussing the importance of the original film and Valens' story. “Together with the rock and roll classics of Ritchie Valens, my 1987 biopic ‘La Bamba’ has graciously withstood the test of time. And yet, the tragically short life and career of Richard Valenzuela continues to inspire new generations of fans the world over,” he said.
“As new biographical details have come to light, a new cinematic look at his eternally young seventeen years on earth can only add to his undying legend.”