Louvin Brothers Biopic in the Works

The forthcoming film Satan is Real re-tells the story of the influential music that the Louvin Brothers are known for and the erratic lives that they lived behind it.

Satan is Real: The Story of the Louvin Brothers

Hollywood star and Blaze director Ethan Hawke and actor Alessandro Nivola will star in the upcoming film. The real-life best friends will play Charlie and Ira Louvin, trailblazer country artists whose relationship is forged and solidified by love, hate, and alcohol.

Director Phil Morrison is slated to be the director of the movie that is currently in development. The script will be written by Jon Raymond and Shelby Gaines, and based on Charlie Louvin’s autobiography of the same name.

One of the most distinct attributes that the Louvin brothers have is their wonderful ‘blood harmonies,’ a musical term used to describe the kind of melodious harmonizing that can be achieved when blood relatives sing together. It is because relatives have the genetic link that allows them to share the same tones in their voice.

The Louvins drew inspiration from the Opry stars the Delmore Brothers and the Sand Mountain region of Alabama’s rich history of distinct shape-note gospel singing.

With this, the brothers presented a twist with their singing, referencing these inspirations and turning it into a more pop-friendly sound, catching the ears of the Everly Brothers and other ‘blood harmony’ standard-bearers.

Hawke and Nivola expressed that they hoped to achieve that same type of ‘blood harmony’ in their performances. Hawke emphasized that nailing that would be a very important part of selling the role.

“It’s such an important expression to us. It sounds both violent and beautiful and the music should be that. It’s aggressive, it’s electric, it’s strange. It’s not Brooklyn folk rock. It’s not wannabe cool guy country. It’s hillbilly gospel music.”

The brothers may have been known for their smooth harmonies, but behind the scenes, their lives were filled with proverbial and literal storms. The Louvin Brothers parted ways in 1963, two years before Ira died in a car wreck.