Pitchfork

Frodo Baggins himself, Elijah Wood, has been pegged to portray punk pioneer Iggy Pop in a new film. Confirming rumors that have been swirling for what seems like years, Variety.com reports that the flick The Passenger tackles a time when a Stooge wasn't an idiot, focusing on Iggy's early years with the hamfisted visionaries.

Filmmakers (including director Nick Gomez of Drowning Mona, er, fame) anticipate a summer 2008 release for the flick.

Gawky sweetheart Elijah Wood as raw, powerful Iggy, huh? The whole "being short" thing is really paying off for our boy North.

Of course, this isn't Wood's first foray into rock and roll. Not only is he the head of Simian Records, Wood plays a large part in the back-burner-relegated Flaming Lips flick Christmas on Mars. (This could be the year, right, boys?)

As for Ig, he's given The Passenger his blessing but will play no part in its conception. Would that he'd taken the same tack regarding the Stooges reunion.

Iggy and the Stooges will be out most of the summer.

The Stooges dates:

05-27 Landgraaf, Netherlands - Pinkpop
06-01 Neuchâtel, Switzerland - Neuchatel Open Air Festival
06-20 London, England - Meltdown Festival
06-23 Glastonbury, England - Glastonbury Festival
06-24 Wroclaw, Poland - Olympic Stadium
06-28 Blois, France - Festival de Blois
06-30 Borlänge, Sweden - Peace and Love 2007
07-03 Paris, France - Le Palais des Sports
07-05 Athens, Greece - Hellinikon Olympic Complex
07-07 Tel Aviv, Israel - Bitan 1 Convention Centre
07-19 Valencia, Spain - FIB Festival
07-21 Tromsø, Norway - Bukta (Tromsø Open Air Festival)
07-28 Mt. Fuji, Japan - Fuji Rock Festival
08-03 Ejido, Spain - Almeria Natural Festival
08-05 Chicago, IL - Lollapalooza
09-02 Stradbally, Ireland - Electric Picnic
09-07 Fredrikstad, Norway - Månefestivalen