SANTA MONICA, JULY 25, 2016 – Universal Music Group (UMG), the world leader in music-based entertainment, announced today that it’s producing a feature-length documentary film about the extraordinary life of INXS lead singer Michael Hutchence.

Passion Pictures, the multi-award winning production company with film credits including the Academy Award winning documentary Searching For Sugar Man, will co-produce. Richard Lowenstein, a close friend of Hutchence and whose writing and directing credits include He Died with a Felafel in His Hand, Say a Little Prayer and Strikebound, has agreed to direct. INXS is signed to Universal Music Publishing Group.

In making the announcement, David Blackman, UMG’s Head of Film and Television Development and Production, said, “Michael Hutchence was a musical genius who led one of the world’s biggest bands to global stardom, only to succumb to a tragic end. We have assembled an incredible team that is committed to telling Michael’s story and providing the world with a portrait of a man who left behind an enduring musical and cultural legacy.”

Lowenstein added, “As one of Michael Hutchence’s closest friends and director of the majority of his and INXS’s multi award-winning music videos, concert films, and his only lead role in a dramatic feature film, I have been working on the definitive documentary film journey into the heart and soul of this complex, shy, poetic and exceptionally charismatic man for many years. To be able to embark on this film now with such great partners as UMG, UK’s Passion Pictures, Ghost Pictures, Chris and INXS is extremely exciting and I know that together we are going to tell this story like no one else can.”

John Battsek from Passion Pictures said, “To be a part of such an impressive team embarking on making the definitive INXS/Michael Hutchence feature documentary is a real thrill for me and everyone at Passion Pictures. To know we have access to everyone and everything required to make such a film and the full support of UMG just reaffirms to us all that we can tell this story in the truest and most authentic way possible. That’s why we make documentaries in the first place.”

Chris Murphy, INXS’s longtime manager and Chairman of Petrol Records, said Hutchence’s daughter, Tiger Lily, will be a beneficiary of the film’s proceeds. “I am extremely proud that Michael’s film includes Tiger as a beneficiary,” he said.

Creative Artists Agency (CAA) will represent the film’s North American distribution rights and worldwide deals, originating in North America.

About Universal Music Group

Universal Music Group (UMG) is the world leader in music-based entertainment, with a broad array of businesses engaged in recorded music, music publishing, merchandising and audiovisual content in more than 60 countries.  Featuring the most comprehensive catalog of recordings and songs across every musical genre, UMG identifies and develops artists and produces and distributes the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful music in the world.  Committed to artistry, innovation and entrepreneurship, UMG fosters the development of services, platforms and business models in order to broaden artistic and commercial opportunities for our artists and create new experiences for fans. Universal Music Group is a Vivendi company. Find out more at: http://www.universalmusic.com.

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