Justin Timberlake is set to star in Spinning Gold, a biopic on the life of Neil Bogart, 1970s record producer and co-founder of Casablanca Records.

Written by Neil’s son, Tim Bogart, the film tells the “rags-to-riches story” of an impoverished Jewish kid from Brooklyn who would become a multi-millionaire. He helped define ‘70s pop culture with his Casablanca label, which launched the careers of such superstars as Parliament, Donna Summer, the Village People and KISS. He died of cancer in 1982 at age 39.

“This is a saga about a young dreamer who started with nothing and came of age in the ’60s and ’70s, believing anything was possible and every risk was worth taking,” Tim Bogart said. He also added that Spinning Gold has been “literally three decades in the making.”

“We needed a young actor who can carry this picture,” Bogart explained. After Timberlake was suggested, a meeting was set up. “When Justin walked into the room, that was the moment I had been waiting for for 29 years,” Tim Bogart said. “He has the exact same energy as my father, the same glimmer in his eye.”

According to Deadline, Spinning Gold will be independently financed but with a major studio-size budget. Boardwalk Entertainment Group, which is producing the film, is currently in talks with potential directors. Production is scheduled to begin before the end of 2012.

Timberlake will also act as a producer on the film. He recently completed filming the sci-fi crime drama In Time.

(Photo: Ethan Miller/GettyImages)