Directed and written by Randall Miller, the cast will feature Bartha (Lend Me a Tenor) as Stiv Bators, the lead singer of the Dead Boys; Malin Akerman ("Rock of Ages") as Blondie's Debbie Harry; Tony nominee Alan Rickman (Seminar) as Hilly Kristal, the club's proprietor; Ashley Greene ("Twilight") as Kristal's daughter; Johnny Galecki (The Little Dog Laughed, "The Big Band Theory") as band manager Terry Ork; Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins as Iggy Pop; and Rupert Grint ("Harry Potter") as Cheetah Chrome, the Dead Boys guitarist.
CBGB, founded by Hilly Kristal in 1973, was as a music club located at 315 Bowery at Bleecker Street. The club became a forum for American punk and New Wave bands such as Ramones, Misfits, Television, the Patti Smith Group, Mink DeVille, The Dead Boys, The Dictators, The Fleshtones, The Voidoids, The Cramps, Blondie, The Shirts and Talking Heads. It also featured Agnostic Front, Murphy's Law, Cro-Mags, Warzone, Gorilla Biscuits, Sick of It All and Youth of Today, among others. The club closed in October 2006.
"CBGB" begins production next month in Savannah, GA, before moving to NYC.