Jeff Buckley's life will be portrayed in a film by Jake Scott

Jeff Buckley's life, his career and his untimely death will be portrayed in a film by Jake Scott. Dan Algrant is set to start work on a movie based on Buckley's rise to fame come August.

Hollywood directors Jake Scott and Dan Algrant have announced plans to film - not one - but two distinct movies about the life, career and tragic death of singer Jeff Buckley. Smuggler Films announced on 20 June that Gossip Girl and Easy A actor Penn Badgley will play the lead role in Algrant's upcoming “Greetings From Tim Buckley.” This particular film will differ greatly from Scott's version, which will be more of a conventional bio-pic with Buckley's life from start to finish. On the other hand, Algrant's version will portray “the true story of the days leading up to Jeff Buckley's eminent 1991 performance at his father's tribute concert in St. Ann's Church.

“Through a romance with a young woman working at the concert, he comes to understand the father who abandoned him. Culminating in a cathartic performance of his father's most famous songs, Jeff's debut stuns the audience and launches his career as one of the greatest musicians of his time.” according to the official press release.

Jake Scott's film - adapted from a script by Ryan Jaffe – will focus more on Buckley's life in general. Unlike Dan Algrant's take though, Scott's movie has not set any date to begin filming or even cast the actor for the lead role. It will be interesting to see how both directors execute their stories and composite their films. Even though the name Jeff Buckley may not ring too many mental bells in this day and age.

Jeffrey Scott Buckley (also known as Scotty Moorhead) was born on 17 November 1966 to Mary Guibert and troubled musician Tim Buckley. Jeff's birth father had recorded and released albums in the folk and jazz genres in the late 1960s and early 70s. It was, however, Jeff's stepfather Ron Moorhead who raised him in conjunction with his mother. As such he became known as Scott “Scotty” Moorhead due to Ron's surname and his own middle name.

Jeff Buckley was raised amidst music such as Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd which his stepfather turned him onto early in life. He then picked up and started playing guitar at the age of five. By 12 Buckley made the decision to become a musician, and in high school he even developed a soft spot for progresive rock and jazz fusion. Tim Buckley – whom Jeff only met once when he was eight years old – died of a drug overdose in 1975. After which, Scotty Moorhead made the ultimate decision to be known by the Buckley surname and his original first name.

Jeff spent the 1980s as a freelance guitarist in Los Angeles and cultivated something of a fan base in the early 90s via covering existing songs. He also finally landed a contract with Columbia but was able to record only one full album, entitled Grace. Sadly, Buckley perished in Tennessee's Wolf River after randomly attempting to swim while intoxicated. His body was discovered on 4 June 1997 and he was 30 years old.

Even though Jeff Buckley has since physically passed away, the spirit of his music continues to thrive. His cover of Leonard Cohen's “Hallelujah” - the song he probably best known for – reached number 1 on Billboard's Hot Digital songs in March of 2008. Still a popular subject, Jeff Buckley and his repertoire are often listed on countdowns within the music media.