Elijah Wood Will Become Iggy Pop In The Passenger

Actor Elijah Wood has been chosen to play punk pioneer Iggy Pop in a biopic titled The Passenger.

The film, written by Eric Schmid and directed by Nick Gomez (Drowning Mona), will portray Pop's time with his groundbreaking Detroit rock band, The Stooges. It will start shooting in six months and is expected in theatres sometime during the summer of 2008. The movie's budget is in the $6 million to $8 million U.S. range.

While Pop has "given his blessing" to the film, according to a source associated with the project, he won't take part in it.

Pop was known for getting into a number of altercations during The Stooges' heyday, so it would be great casting if Wood (and Chart) nemesis Jared Leto could be given a role in The Passenger so that Wood and Leto can renew their hostilities.

Although Wood doesn't look much like Pop, the Lord Of The Rings star is one of the biggest music fans in Hollywood. He launched Simian Records, which released Apples In Stereo's New Magnetic Wonder in February. He also directed the video for the band's "Energy" single.