New Order spars as Corbijn exudes Control

[Above: Sam Riley as Ian Curtis and Joe Anderson as Peter Hook in Anton Corbijn's Control]

Amidst an ongoing rift between New Order's Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook, Control, Anton Corbijn's film based on their former band, Joy Division, is slated for U.S. Release on October 10.

Based on Deborah Curtis' memoir (Touching From a Distance) about life with her troubled husband Ian, Control follows the Joy Division frontman from the early days of adulthood to his untimely death at age 23 in 1980.

Control also marks the feature film debut for Corbijn, an avid Joy Division fan who left his native Holland to photograph the UK music scene in the late 1970s. Best known as the stark and mannerist chronicler of U2 and Depeche Mode, Corbijn filmed Control in his signature black-and-white style, with newcomer Sam Riley in the role of Curtis.

Control won three prizes at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival in May, where Sumner, Hook, and drummer Stephen Morris attended a screening, despite having announced a New Order split just days before.

Subsequently, Hook and Sumner (who met as boys at school in Salford, England and have performed together for more than 30 years), spent the rest of this summer sparring in the press and online, where Hook spewed accusations in an angry July 30 blog ("This group has SPLIT UP! you are no more new order than i am! you may have two thirds but don't assume you have the rights to do anything NEW ordery cos you don't. i've still got a third! But am open to negotiation."), with Sumner retorting in an August 2 Rolling Stone interview: "I think that Hooky just needs to chill out a little bit and relax."

Prior to their breakup, Hook, Sumner, and Morris contributed to the Control score as both New Order and as a reformed version of Joy Division. The soundtrack also includes music from Bryan Ferry, the Killers, Lou Reed, Buzzcocks, David Bowie and the Sex Pistols.

Related links:
ControlTheMovie.com
JoyDiv.org
NewOrderOnline.com

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