AI Casts Kurt Cobain Biopic & Its Choices are Pretty Solid

Artificial intelligence has been an ongoing topic of conversation lately, especially when it comes to creating content. One of the most popular AI engines at the moment is ChatGPT, which has kicked out some very interesting content via requests from users. But what would happen if ChatGPT were asked to create and cast a Kurt Cobain biopic? Thanks to American Songwriter, we now know.

To begin with, the film would be called Smells Like Teen Spirit: The Kurt Cobain Story. The film would feature three acts. The first act would focus on Cobain's tumultuous childhood and discovery of music. Its second act would focus on Nirvana's exploding popularity, and the third act will chronicle Cobain's tragic last days.

Now, as for the cast, ChatGPT had some interesting choices. Timothée Chalamet would play Cobain, while Saoirse Ronan would play Courtney Love. ChatGPT chose Bill Skarsgård to play Krist Novoselic and Joe Keery to play Dave Grohl.

Cobain's parental figures have some significant star power, too. Frances McDormand was cast as his mother, Wendy O'Connor, while Josh Brolin was cast as his father, Don Cobain. Meanwhile, Cobain's aunt/legal guardian, Kim, would be played by Amy Adams.

While we're not terribly impressed with the biopic-by-numbers plot of this proposed film, we have to hand it to ChatGPT for putting together a great cast.

Kurt Cobain was born on February 20, 1967. While he was only on the Earth for 27 years, he left an impact that is still felt today.

Many musicians have talked about the impact of the late Nirvana frontman. Billie Joe Armstrong once said of Cobain, "When someone goes that honestly straight to the core of who they are, what they’re feeling, and was able to kind of put it out there, I don’t know, man, it’s amazing. I remember hearing it when 'Nevermind' came out and just thinking, we’ve finally got our Beatles, this era finally got our Beatles, and ever since then it’s never happened again."

Patti Smith said in 1996 she was happy a generation of young people had Nirvana growing up. She noted, "I didn't know anything about Kurt's torments or personal life. I saw the work and the energy, and I was excited by that."

Surprisingly, Cobain also has a lot of love from the rap community. Complex gathered quotes from some of the biggest rappers of all time about how much they admire Cobain. Jay Z likened Cobain to artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, who also died at 27 and struggled with substance abuse.

The reach of Cobain has continued as Nirvana is always introduced to new generations. Dave Grohl said during an October 2023 appearance on Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend, "What I've realized is that kids these days, there's like a window between the ages of 10 and 13 or maybe 11 and 14, where almost every kid goes through a Nirvana phase."

This impact is why when Cobain-related items go up for auction, they sell for massive price tags. In the past decade, Cobain memorabilia has seemingly become a subset of the entire celebrity auction market.

Want proof? Check out these six items that sold big at auction.

Let's start with the weirdest (and grossest) piece of Cobain memorabilia that sold in recent years. In May 2021, Iconic Auctions sold six strands of the late Nirvana frontman's hair for $14,145. Proceeds from the auction went to The Crew Nation Global Relief Fund for crew workers that were unemployed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Per the item's listing, "Supremely rare presentation of six strands of Kurt Cobain’s hair. Unique presentation on a 8.5” x 11” sheet includes six strands of Cobain’s blonde hair, the largest measuring approximately 2.5,” and housed in a small card with plastic overlay 1.75” x 2.” This one-of-a-kind artifact is entirely fresh-to-market, and accompanied by an impeccable lineage of provenance including images of Kurt posing with the woman who cut this hair, scissors in hand, and a fantastic shot of the hair actually being cut! The lucky friend who trimmed the Nirvana frontman’s iconic blonde locks, was an early confidant, Tessa Osbourne, who cut his hair in 1989—well prior to his “Nevermind” breakthrough—whilst on the “Bleach” Tour."

Not far behind his hair is a used paper plate. (Seriously, we wish we were kidding!) In May 2019, Julien's Auctions sold a used paper plate Cobain wrote a set list on for a 1990 Nirvana show at the 9:30 nightclub in Washington, D.C. The winning bid? $22,400!

Here's one that'll hit you right in the nostalgia: In 2017, Julien's Auctions sold Cobain's Blockbuster Video card. The card was issued at a Los Angeles store location located at 1508 North Orange Grove. The card was estimated to sell for between $400-$600. It ended up selling for $2,187.50.

Cobain's olive-green mohair cardigan he wore during the band's now-legendary appearance on MTV Unplugged sold via Julien's Auctions in October 2019. It sold for a whopping $334,000. That winning bid made it the most expensive sweater to ever be sold at auction. Julien's Auctions originally estimated that the Cobain sweater would sell for between $200,000-$300,000.

Originally estimated to sell between $600,000-$800,000, this unique piece of rock/music video history ended up selling for $4.5 million in May 2022. The electric guitar was yet another piece of Cobain memorabilia sold by Julien's Auctions.

Per a press release from Julien's Auctions, "The guitar was acquired by The Jim Irsay Collection in Indianapolis in a bidding war among collectors and bidders all across the globe who participated live at the Hard Rock Cafe® New York, online at juliensauctions.com and on the phone...In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, the Cobain family is donating a portion of the proceeds of the legendary guitar and select Kurt Cobain items to Kicking The Stigma, the Irsays' initiative to raise awareness about mental health disorders and remove the stigma associated with these illnesses."

Last, but certainly not least, is this truly historic piece of Cobain memorabilia. In June 2020, Julien's Auctions sold the 1959 Martin D-18E Acoustic-Electric guitar Cobain played on MTV Unplugged. The guitar was estimated to sell for $1 million, but it ended up going for $6.01 million!

In the process, it set the following records: World's Most Expensive Guitar, World's Most Expensive Acoustic Guitar, World's Most Expensive Martin Guitar, World's Most Expensive Piece of Memorabilia and World's Most Expensive Nirvana Memorabilia.