Well, it's about time. A new biopic about Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia is slated for the big screen. Focusing on the future counterculture hero's early years in the Bay Area before he joined the Grateful Dead, the untitled project will be based on Robert Greenfield's book, 'Dark Star.'

Producers have reportedly acquired the rights to Greenfield 's oral history of Garcia, which counts the perspectives of the musicians, relatives and artist friends like Ken Kesey. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the project will focus on Garcia's stint in the military, his life-changing car accident and his first interactions with members of the San Francisco music scene, including future Dead bassist Phil Lesh.

Although the Grateful Dead have been the subject of number of documentaries, including the Garcia-directed concert film 'The Grateful Dead Movie' (1977), the story of Garcia's life has yet to be explored on film.

Though hours from the site of the historic music festival, Woodstock, NY has long been considered synonymous with music. To that end, it's fitting that the Woodstock Film Festival would honor its location's reputation. The 9th annual fest, which took place Oct. 1-5, included several music documentaries in its 'Focus on Music' series. Spinner took in all of the flicks and pared it down to the top three music lovers must see.

1. 'All Together Now': Stunningly shot and pleasantly insightful, 'All Together Now' follows the collaboration between the Beatles and Cirque du Soleil to produce 'Love' -- a project George Harrison barely began before he died. This "privileged view," as the director calls it, reveals more than the intense rehearsal and staging process. The film witnesses the artful reconfiguration of Beatles classics by producer George Martin and his son Giles; Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison loyally defending their deceased husbands' visions and integrity; and a moment of elation as Ringo Starr giddily jumps up and down in his seat, while Paul McCartney plays air drums and lip syncs 'Sgt. Peppers.' The filmmakers expect a DVD release in time for Christmas.

Producer Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, while editing the Oscar-winning film 'When We Were Kings,' took note of the hundreds of hours of footage not being used. It's that footage -- which documents the musical concert that was also a part of the 1974 'Rumble in the Jungle' heavyweight championship boxing fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Zaire -- that's now become his directorial debut film, 'Soul Power.'

"I knew there was this amazing repository," Levy-Hinte tells Spinner. "If it wasn't made into a film it would essentially be unwritten history."

The film, beautifully edited and digitized, features performances by James Brown, B.B. King, Celia Cruz and Miriam Makeba, among others, as well as a few shots of the notorious Don King, who promoted both the fight and the concert. But it's not just a concert movie. It's a film that highlights the event's evolution, African culture and the importance of music -- soul music.

Makeup and role play isn't out of the ordinary for Gene Simmons. That said, it only seems fitting that the Kiss bassist makes a cameo in Japan's No. 2 box office hit, 'Detroit Metal City,' as Jack Ill Dark, a legendary American death metal guitarist who holds the title "The Emperor."

Simmons flew to Japan last March for five days of shooting after director Toshio Lee tracked the rocker down with the help of Sony Music Japan. "He was a complete professional," Lee tells Spinner with the aid of an English-speaking translator. "He didn't even want to rest. He said, 'I'm here for business.'"

Amy Winehouse doesn't take no for an answer. When producers of the upcoming James Bond flick 'Quantum Of Solace' passed over her theme song last month in favor of the Jack White/Alicia Keys collaboration 'Another Way to Die,' the embattled singer decided to go it alone and release her unwanted song after all.

Winehouse reportedly intends to "prove that [film executives] made a "big mistake" by dismissing her then-unfinished Bond theme contender. She's even thinking of releasing the Mark Ronson-produced tune the same week as the new White/Keys single. "I guess they are going for clean-cut and boring," Winehouse reportedly told Britain's New Magazine. "When I do release mine -- and I am tempted to do it on the same day -- this would be the bigger hit."

"I do think they could have waited a bit," a confident Winehouse said, pointing to her head. "If they want a worldwide hit, I have them all up here."

Best known for his role as the tightly wound Dwight Schrute on TV's 'The Office,' Rainn Wilson has become something of a cultural icon. (How many Schrute Bucks do you have?) And while he's held several smaller roles on both the big and small screen, including last year's runaway indie hit 'Juno' and HBO's cult series 'Six Feet Under,' he makes his starring debut as an overspandexed has-been drummer from the '80s in 'The Rocker.' Wilson took time out to catch up with Spinner and talk about his real-life role as a music enthusiast and his own rock-star tendencies.

"There were a lot of perks," he told us of his recent promotional tour, which had him making appearances at music festivals this past spring, including Sasquatch. "I got to interview the Who. I was terrible. But it was a dream come true," he admits, calling Pete Townshend an "icon" and maintaining that behind Bob Dylan, "there's no other person I wound rather meet." But he isn't just about the veterans. During our talk, he drops names like Cold War Kids, the National, Fleet Foxes, the Raconteurs, Kings of Leon and Wilco. "I love Wilco," he gushes. "I just think they will be remembered like the Byrds were, as just a great American rock band. But ask him for his favorite of all time, he's quick to answer "Radiohead."

Sorry, Amy Winehouse. No Bond for you. While the embattled Brit was rumored to be penning the new James Bond theme, R&B songstress Alicia Keys and White Stripes/Raconteurs brainchild Jack White will team for the honor for the upcoming 'Quantum of Solace.' Titled 'Another Way To Die,' the song was written and produced by White, who also plays drums and counts the soulful pipes of the eleven-time Grammy winner Keys.

The film's soundtrack -- which upholds a 45-year tradition of themes for the movie franchise -- will be released October 28. Other Bond theme veterans include Paul McCartney and Wings ('Live and Let Die'), Carly Simon ('Nobody Does It Better'), Duran Duran ('A View to a Kill'), Madonna ('Die Another Day') and, most recently, Chris Cornell, who sang 'You Know My Name' for 2006's 'Casino Royale.'

Previous reports suggested vocalists like Leona Lewis, Duffy, Annie Lennox and the recently hospitalized Winehouse were all in the running for the title. The film is slated to debut in theaters on November 7.

Daft Punk have just unveiled their first full-length motion picture, 'Electroma.' If you weren't able to catch it at film festival screenings, perhaps you viewed the five-minute excerpt Spinner premiered last week. The movie marks a new direction for the French electronic duo, who have adapted their artistic vision to a journey beyond sound. Removing both themselves and their music from the film, the pair craft an expedition through a silent cinematic world populated by lost robots on a quest to become human.

"From the beginning of Daft Punk and the way we decided to make music, we've always wanted to experiment with different art forms -- the idea of natural progression and the growth of an aesthetic that we have been trying to develop both musically and visually," Daft Punk's Thomas Bangalter tells Spinner. "So we like the idea of expanding it and making it a gradual expansion both in content and also in ways of expressing ourselves."

Rare footage of the Beatles -- shot on grainy, color, 8 mm film -- has been uncovered. Shot during the Fab Four's 1967 visit to Plymouth, during the making of the 'Magical Mystery Tour,' the film finds John, Paul, George and Ringo on their infamous yellow tour bus and walking the British coastline.

It is believed the footage was captured by vacationers. It will surface as part of a new documentary on the legendary Liverpudlians, which will reportedly be called 'Mystery Tour Memories.'

"They were quite happy to relax and talk to people; the days of 'Beatlemania' were long gone," David Lambert, a film producer for Arthouse Pictures, tells music magazine Uncut. "I think it was George who said 'As long as people don't want to scream at us and pull our hair out and take our clothes off, we are quite happy to sit and talk to them."

A trailer of the film can be seen here.

Neil Young's feature-length documentary of his 2006 reunion with Crosby, Stills & Nash, 'CSNY: Déjà Vu,' is as politically charged a film as you would expect from this reconvened foursome, who have never shied away from their anti-authoritarian stance of the '60s and '70s. The aptly named 'Freedom of Speech' tour not only provided the rich harmonies and strong songs of the reunited CSNY but gave the members a platform for their anti-war and anti-Bush views to to an audience that was sometimes receptive and sometimes demonstrably not.

The film currently has been making the festival rounds, but while you wait for it to come to your town, Spinner presents an exclusive preview here.