Joplin movie goes
ahead, without Pink or Etheridge

Actress Zooey Deschanel has been tapped to play legendary blues singer Janis Joplin in a movie set to start filming in November.

Titled The Gospel According to Janis, the film is cowritten by David Dalton, who was assigned to write a piece on Joplin for Rolling Stone that would have compared the drug-addled bisexual performer with another entertainer--Judy Garland. Dalton accompanied Joplin on a tour for the article, and that experience will provide the crux of the upcoming film.

The movie, to film in Philadelphia, is budgeted at $10 million. Deschanel (Elf and The Good Girl) will sing in the film and is training with a vocal coach to achieve Joplin's trademark gritty sound.

Another Joplin flick is in the works with Renee Zellweger attached as the lead, but no filming has yet been confirmed. Both pop star Pink and out rocker Melissa Etheridge were previously linked to Joplin films. (The Advocate)