'N Sync: The Movie
by Mark Armstrong
Apr 29, 2000, 12:55 PM PT

The trip from vinyl to celluloid is littered with bodies. Ah, Spice Girls, Vanilla Ice we hardly knew ya.

But leave it to those megadreamy boys in 'N Sync  to try, anyway. In the great tradition of bands turned big-screen successes like the Beatles, and, um, the Beatles, Justin, JC, Lance, Joey and Chris this week announced a deal with Total Film Group and their own Phat Free Productions to launch their first film, to begin shooting next year.

The title and storyline are being kept secret for now, and other details about the project are sketchy. But word is the quintet will not be playing themselves for the project.

In a statement announcing the big news, Total Film Group Chairman and CEO Gerald Green said (and without a shred of sarcasm): " 'N Sync is an international music treasure. By turning to film, they will give their fans around the world a new medium in which to enjoy their remarkable talents. Now, 'N Sync's 'N film!"

Golden Raspberry Award voters, take notice. No matter how much 'N Sync fans hope otherwise, pop-music darlings have historically lobbed themselves into made-to-stink films. Most recently, the Spice Girls lured famous faces like Roger Moore, George Wendt and Meat Loaf to show up in the group's 1998 film, Spice World, but the flick (working title: It's Been a Hard 15 Minutes) still bombed.

It's unfair to doom 'N Sync's film to failure, but it may be getting off to an equally ominous start--producers will announce more film details during an 'N Sync appearance May 16 at the Cannes Film Festival. (The Spice Girls also made its grand announcement at Cannes).

Other hugely popular groups have taken more modest steps in their road to acting--the Jackson 5 and 'N Sync's prefab predecessors New Kids on the Block  settled for goofy Saturday-morning cartoons. And still other recording artists have made do with less, like voice-over guest spots on Scooby Doo.

Then again, someone like Mama Cass never sold a record-breaking  2.4 million albums in one week. 'N Sync could be ripe for the big screen, having sold almost five million copies of its third album, No Strings Attached, in just five weeks.

And most 'N Sync-heads know the boys already have blossoming acting résumés. Lance made his acting debut on the WB's 7th Heaven, and Joey created an acting handbook for students with the help of his former drama coach. Justin proved his true thespian worth by having to compete for attention opposite Kathie Lee Gifford  and her son, Cody, in the recent ABC TV flick, Model Behavior. And let's not forget about Justin and JC's stint on The Mickey Mouse Club in 1992.

Meanwhile, the group will have cameo roles in the upcoming indie film Jack of All Trades, cowritten and produced by the band's founder and ex-manager, Lou Perlman.