# Amy Adams as Janis Joplin?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-adams-as-janis-joplin/651946
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [March 3, 2013, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-adams-as-janis-joplin/651946 "2013-03-03T23:16:33Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2013, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-adams-as-janis-joplin/651946/1 "2013-03-03T23:16:33Z")
According to the IMDB, a film about Joplin is in the works, with Adams as the lead. Anybody can be uglied up with prosthetics and makeup, but I don’t find any evidence that she has the vocal chops for this. I suppose they could do voice-over, but that’s almost always obvious.
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### Author:  [@jack\_tardiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jack_tardiff)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2013, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-adams-as-janis-joplin/651946/2 "2013-03-03T23:25:27Z")
First I heard of it. Great biopic material – not exactly a Hollywood story, I guess which is maybe why “they” haven’t done it yet. An utterly unrepentant sinner, who is also kind of fugly.
I don’t know – I guess Amy Adams could do it if she wanted to. I never quite got the memo that she was an actual actress, just that she was kind of spunky. But if she is a real actual actress, sure, why not.
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### Author:  [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2013, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-adams-as-janis-joplin/651946/3 "2013-03-03T23:37:46Z")
If she can pull off [Giselle](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRYU4cqUAUs&feature=youtube_gdata_player) AND Joplin, then wow! She has a far greater range than I expected.
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### Author:  [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2013, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-adams-as-janis-joplin/651946/4 "2013-03-03T23:40:35Z")
There have been multiple Joplin projects in the works for years. I don’t know if any will ever be made.
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### Author:  [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2013, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-adams-as-janis-joplin/651946/5 "2013-03-03T23:43:38Z")
> [@jack\_tardiff](#):
>
> First I heard of it. Great biopic material – not exactly a Hollywood story, I guess which is maybe why “they” haven’t done it yet. An utterly unrepentant sinner, who is also kind of fugly.
>
> I don’t know – I guess Amy Adams could do it if she wanted to. I never quite got the memo that she was an actual actress, just that she was kind of spunky. But if she is a real actual actress, sure, why not.
She’s been nominated 4 times for Oscars in very different roles. Watch The Fighter and see if she is a real actress.
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### Author:  [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2013, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-adams-as-janis-joplin/651946/6 "2013-03-04T00:05:51Z")
She can definitely sing, though I’ve never heard her sing anything stylistically like Joplin.
I’m sure they’ll keep her pretty. Sure not as “pretty” as her fairytale princess character in _Enchanted_, maybe even not as pretty as her lower class bartender character from _The Fighter_, but I highly _Doubt_ they’ll give her the full Charlize Theron _Monster_ treatment.
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2013, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-adams-as-janis-joplin/651946/7 "2013-03-04T04:55:36Z")
I have no quarrel with her acting, but any bio I could find online pretty much only goes to the level of “she likes to sing karaoke”. She seems to have a passable voice, but to be able to belt out Joplin’s gravelly blues style will require more than a shower singer.
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### Author:  [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2013, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-adams-as-janis-joplin/651946/8 "2013-03-04T05:08:39Z")
**Eliahna** posted a YouTube link for a scene from the movie _Enchanted_. If you’re not familiar with it, she clearly displays that her singing talent goes _far_ beyond shower/karaoke.
_Stylistically_ it is very different singing than what would be required to portray Joplin, but the talent is clearly there.
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2013, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-adams-as-janis-joplin/651946/9 "2013-03-04T05:14:02Z")
> [@bienville](#):
>
> **Eliahna** posted a YouTube link for a scene from the movie _Enchanted_. If you’re not familiar with it, she clearly displays that her singing talent goes _far_ beyond shower/karaoke.
>
> _Stylistically_ it is very different singing than what would be required to portray Joplin, but the talent is clearly there.
Yeah, she can carry a tune and sing a chirpy love song. But I think a competent rendition of _Piece of My Heart_ is gonna be a tough goal to reach.
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### Author:  [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2013, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-adams-as-janis-joplin/651946/10 "2013-03-04T07:20:37Z")
I don’t think I’ll be able to watch a Janis Joplin bio without thinking of Jenna Maroney in **Jackie Jormp-Jomp**.
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### Author:  [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2013, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-adams-as-janis-joplin/651946/11 "2013-03-04T08:05:31Z")
Ok, who’s around who can do a credible Joplin vocal?
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### Author:  [@Double\_Foolscap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Double_Foolscap)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2013, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-adams-as-janis-joplin/651946/12 "2013-03-04T12:52:29Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#):
>
> I don’t think I’ll be able to watch a Janis Joplin bio without thinking of Jenna Maroney in **Jackie Jormp-Jomp**.
“Synonym’s just another word for the one you wanna use…”
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### Author:  [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunzio_Tavulari)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2013, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-adams-as-janis-joplin/651946/13 "2013-03-04T13:48:37Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#):
>
> Ok, who’s around who can do a credible Joplin vocal?
I’m blanking on the name but she was a popular singer within the last five years. I _think_ she was part of a group.
“They” did do this before, with Bette Midler and The Rose. They fudged the story a bit to make it a star vehicle for Midler, but it was the same story gussied up so hat they didn’t have to pay her estate.
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### Author:  [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2013, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-adams-as-janis-joplin/651946/14 "2013-03-04T14:02:34Z")
Jamie Foxx lip-synced over real Ray Charles recordings in “Ray”. Nothing requires Amy Adams to mimic Joplin’s voice - she’ll certainly be dubbed over with the real thing.
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### Author:  [@I\_Made\_French\_Toast\_For\_You](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Made_French_Toast_For_You)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2013, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-adams-as-janis-joplin/651946/15 "2013-03-04T15:16:13Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#):
>
> I don’t think I’ll be able to watch a Janis Joplin bio without thinking of Jenna Maroney in **Jackie Jormp-Jomp**.
It already has a [criterion poster,](http://www.vulture.com/2012/06/poster-for-jackie-jormp-jomp.html) which makes it more real to me than this Amy Adams things.
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2013, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-adams-as-janis-joplin/651946/16 "2013-03-04T16:26:17Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#):
>
> Ok, who’s around who can do a credible Joplin vocal?
[Mary Bridget Davies](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Fj9Y_3klcI)? Don’t know if she can act, but she can sure sing.
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### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2013, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-adams-as-janis-joplin/651946/17 "2013-03-04T17:06:01Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#):
>
> Ok, who’s around who can do a credible Joplin vocal?
Melissa Etheridge comes to mind – she does a pretty darned good cover of _[Piece of My Heart](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXlaeVDd_Tg)_, and she was chosen to [introduce Joplin’s induction](http://rockhall.com/inductees/janis-joplin/transcript/melissa-etheridge-on-janis/) to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Of course, she’s not an actress, and she’s over 50, but she could do a credible job on the music.
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### Author:  [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2013, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-adams-as-janis-joplin/651946/18 "2013-03-04T17:19:16Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#):
>
> I don’t think I’ll be able to watch a Janis Joplin bio without thinking of Jenna Maroney in **Jackie Jormp-Jomp**.
Right. Forget singing, is Amy Adams prepared to eat a cat and speed-walk eveywhere?
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2013, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-adams-as-janis-joplin/651946/19 "2013-03-04T17:20:14Z")
I’d rather see a decent actress lip synch than one who doesn’t do the music justice. There’s plenty of room for enhancement of a real voice in-between. I think Tina Turner did all the singing in What’s Love Got To Do With It. Janis Joplin can’t do it for this film, but her recordings might work in some cases.
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### Author:  [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2013, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-adams-as-janis-joplin/651946/20 "2013-03-04T18:39:07Z")
> [@Chefguy](#):
>
> Yeah, she can carry a tune
I’m going to gather 31 non-singers of whom the best that can be said is that they “can carry a tune”. I will send one a day for a month to your home to sing “Happy Working Song” from the movie _Enchanted_.
I promise, you will _not_ thank me.
Non-singers should never even attempt that song.
Again, _stylistically_ her singing in that movie is very different than what would be required for a Joplin movie but her singing in _Enchanted_ is conclusive evidence that she is a talented singer well beyond being able to “carry a tune” (not to mention her live performance at the Oscars that year).
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