A Replacements biopic is in the works.
Variety broke the news Wednesday that “Stranger Things” star Finn Wolfhard is working on a script about the cult Minneapolis band with his father, Eric Wolfhard, and producer Rich Peete based on Bob Mehr’s best-selling biography “Trouble Boys: The True Story of the Replacements.”
Mehr, who is the music critic for the Commercial Appeal newspaper in Memphis, Tenn., confirmed the news on social media.
“In the nearly ten years since ‘Trouble Boys’ was published, I’ve been flattered and fortunate that so many accomplished, talented people have approached me about adapting the book for both the big and small screen. Many a meeting at Soho House WeHo was had,” Mehr wrote.
“Over the years, and through various iterations, I’ve continued to believe that the Replacements’ tale would eventually transcend the page and find life in another format.
“To that end, I’m grateful to my friend Finn, his father Eric, and producer Richard Peete for having a real vision for this book and this band. Also — atomic name drop incoming — I have to thank Winona Ryder who’s been a great pal and champion and was instrumental in bringing me and Finn together.”
At this point, no studio is attached to the film. As Mehr wrote: “As with all things Hollywood, the future is unknown, so I don’t want to comment beyond this. But hopefully, in the words of the Canadian poet Randy Bachman, you ain’t seen nothing yet!”
Replacements history
In 1978, guitarist Bob Stinson was 19 when he gave his 11-year-old brother Tommy a bass guitar. Soon after, the pair hooked up with Chris Mars, a guitarist who switched to the drums. Paul Westerberg joined after hearing the band rehearsing at the Stinsons’ home.
The Replacements were still called the Impediments when they played their first public concert in April 1980 at a St. Paul teen rehab center called Team House. They were booked for two sets but got fired after they were discovered drinking in the parking lot after the first performance. A few days later, vocalist Westerberg changed the name of the band to the Replacements.
A month after their first concert, the Replacements gave Twin/Tone Records co-founder Peter Jesperson a four-song demo. He immediately signed the band to his label and became their manager.
The Replacements went on to record three albums for Twin/Tone and 1984’s “Let It Be” — which is being reissued next month with added rarities and a live show — earned rave reviews and the attention of the majors. The group eventually signed with Sire Records, which released four more albums, from 1985’s “Tim” to 1990’s “All Shook Down.”
While the Replacements were perpetually touted as the next big thing, they never broke through to a wide audience. That was in part due to the band’s own doing, from rampant substance abuse to ramshackle live performances designed to antagonize the audience. In 1986, they made an infamous, profanity-laced debut as the musical guests on “Saturday Night Live.” Producer Lorne Michaels subsequently banned them from the show, although he did welcome back Westerberg as a solo artist in 1993.
Post-Replacements
After a final tour in 1991, the Replacements called it quits.
Tommy Stinson formed the short-lived bands Bash and Pop and Perfect before joining Guns N’ Roses in 1998, a position he held for 16 years. His brother Bob, who was fired from the Replacements in 1986, died in 1995.
Mars released several solo albums before focusing his attention on painting. Westerberg recorded for several labels and scored alt-rock radio hits with “Dyslexic Heart” and “World Class Fad.”
The Replacements reunited in 2013 to play several festivals as well as St. Paul’s Midway Stadium in September 2014 and then mounted a full 2015 tour before calling it quits once again.
‘Trouble Boys’
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Mehr first met Westerberg in 2004 when he was working on a magazine profile. They hit it off, and after Mehr was asked to provide liner notes for a 2008 reissue of the Replacements’ “Tim,” he pitched a book idea to the band. Westerberg, Tommy Stinson and many key figures in the band’s history agreed to be interviewed and Mehr spent years researching and writing what would become “Trouble Boys.”
A critical and commercial hit upon its release in 2016, “Trouble Boys” was named an NPR, Amazon and Rolling Stone book of the year. It also landed on Billboard’s “100 Greatest Music Books of All Time” list. Mehr has won two Grammy Awards for writing liner notes to the Replacements’ “Dead Man’s Pop” box set and a deluxe edition of Wilco’s “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.”
Finn Wolfhard, 22, is best known for starring in “Stranger Things” and the “It” and “Ghostbusters” franchises. He also co-wrote and co-directed the 2023 comedy horror film “Hell of a Summer.”
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