Amanda Seyfried has denied that her recent viral cover of Joni Mitchell‘s ‘California’ was her audition for the folk legend’s biopic.
Earlier this month, actor Amanda Seyfried made an appearance on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, where she performed an impromptu cover of Mitchell’s 1971 classic ‘California’, also impressing audiences by playing the dulcimer.
Since then, a slew of celebrities and fans alike have been campaigning for the Mamma Mia! and Les Misérables actor to play a young Joni in the musician’s biopic. Among several of her backers were Jameela Jamil, Regina Spektor, Gwen Stefani, Maya Hawke, Ryan Tedder, Charlie Puth, Matt Bomer, Sheryl Crow, Aaron Paul and Kate Hudson.
Now, however, Seyfried has clarified in a chat with Variety’s Just For Variety podcast that she never meant for the cover to be taken as an audition: “It was not an audition. In fact, I didn’t even consider that, which is funny. What I know about that project is that I’m very, very much aged-out of [playing] young Joni.”
As it turns out, a Joni Mitchell biopic is currently in the works from Almost Famous director Cameron Crowe. The project as first revealed in 2023, though a cast has yet to be announced.
The film had been in development for several years by that point, with the two of them working together for at least two years. Last October, the director gave an optimistic update on the project’s status, saying he hopes to have it completed by Christmas 2025.
Before then, it was reported that Meryl Streep – a close friend of Mitchell – was in talks to portray an older version of the singer-songwriter in the biopic, although neither Crowe, Streep or Mitchell have confirmed the casting.