Filmmaker, musician Rob Zombie and producer Miranda Bailey (‘The Diary of a Teenage Girl,’ ‘Super’) have acquired the screen rights to Steve Stoliar’s memoir ‘Raised Eyebrows: My Years Inside Groucho’s House,’ with plans for Zombie to direct.
Deadline describes Stoliar’s book as “the bizarre story of the last years in the life of Groucho Marx, told by a young Marx Brothers fan who spent those years as his personal secretary and archivist. In addition to getting to know his hero, the author found himself in the orbit of Groucho’s brothers Zeppo and Gummo, Mae West, George Burns, Bob Hope, Jack Lemmon, S.J. Perelman, Steve Allen, and scores of other luminaries of stage, screen, TV and literature. The downside of this dream-come-true was getting close to his idol as the curtain was coming down, and dealing with Erin Fleming – the mercurial woman in charge of Groucho’s personal and professional life.”
“I have been a huge Groucho Marx fan ever since I was a child and have read countless book on the comic legend, but after reading the book Raised Eyebrows, a totally new perspective on Groucho’s life emerged,” Zombie commented. “I immediately saw this project as Groucho’s Sunset Boulevard and knew I had to bring it to the big screen. It is a sad, funny and very dark tale of a one of Hollywood’s greatest stars final years.”
Oren Moverman (‘Love & Mercy,’ ‘Rampart,’ ‘The Messengers’) is on board to script, with Bailey and her Cold Iron Pictures partner Miranda Amanda Marshall producing along with Zombie and Andy Gould.
Zombie’s filmmaking credits include ‘Lords of Salem,’ the ‘Halloween’ reboot and its sequel, ‘The Devil’s Rejects,’ and ‘House of 1000.’