Ashley Greene Joins ‘CBGB’

There's been a lot of stories about the casting for the bio-pic 'CBGB,' which is not surprising considering the legacy of the famous rock venue. From The Ramones to the Talking Heads to Blondie, it was a launching point for some of the most important acts of the 1970's and 80's. Now Ashley Greene has joined the film as the lead.

Greene still feels like a wild card. Yes, she's an attractive woman, but her roles so far have not shown much more than that. The good news is she'll be buffeted by a strong performer like Alan Rickman. But there's also a lot of questionable calls, like Foo Fighter's drummer Taylor Hawkins as Iggy Pop or Malin Akerman as Deborah Harry. With the latter, it's fair to say Akerman has been better in comedies than she has in straight drama.

This comes from Variety, who notes that Greene will be playing Lisa Kristal, the daughter of Alan Rickman's Hilly Kristal - the man who owned the club. The real Lisa Kristal is on board as a producer, so that says something. If Greene is the lead then it's likely the film will try to capture that 'Almost Famous' flavor of the naif in the midst of rock and roll. Hopefully director Randall Miller is up to that task.