The Lamb (lost production material of unreleased unfinished Chris Gaines/Garth Brooks biographical thriller film; existence unconfirmed; 1999)

An ad for a Chris Gaines NBC special.

Status: Existence Unconfirmed

The Lamb is an unreleased and unfinished thriller/biopic about the trials and tribulations of Chris Gaines, a Garth Brooks alter ego. A soundtrack was subsequently created to accompany the film and it was to be produced by Paramount Pictures, though the soundtrack was not written by Garth Brooks himself. The public scrutiny cemented the fate of the project, though "Lost In You" would chart at No. 5 on the Billboard charts of 1999. It is unknown what of the project was filmed, but a draft for a screenplay written by Die Hard screenwriter Jeb Stuart is rumored to have survived.

Synopsis

A determined fan tries to piece together the life of world famous rockstar Chris Gaines and investigates his mysterious death, which suggests that Chris became a victim to foul play. Chris's life story is told through several flashbacks:

Born in Brisbane, Australia in 1967, Chris Gaines moves to Los Angeles, California with his parents, (his father, a swim coach and his mother, an olympic swimmer), at the age of 5. He shows an eager interest in music early on, despite his parent's disapproval. As Gaines enters his teen years, Chris drops out of high school to start a rock band with a friend named Tommy Levitz called Crush, greatly upsetting his parent's expectations of Chris following in their footsteps. The band play successful gigs at local bars and eventually go on a national tour, finding success. But their future is short lived when Tommy, an experienced Pilot, dies in a plane accident, causing Gaines emotional turmoil and pressure from the band's manager, Roma, to produce more music.

Gaines finds a therapeutic outlet through music, which leads to the release of his first solo album, Straight Jacket. Now a successful solo artist, Chris finds himself in more troubles as his sleazy manager steals his money and leaves him destitute. After his father unexpectedly passes away from cancer, Gaines channels his anger into a second album, Fornucopia, but Gaines experiences another setback after crashing his Corvette, leaving him disfigured. After extensive surgery, Chris (now played by Garth Brooks) makes a comeback with a new album, Apostle, but continues to experience pitfalls, including losing his home and work in a wildfire and struggling to control his spiraling sex addiction from destroying his personal relationships. After becoming a recluse, Chris enters rehab for his sex addiction, where he discovers the root of his problems. He releases another album, Triangle, but his album does poorly due to poor marketing. Feeling betrayed by his own studio, Gaines sues to be released from his contract.

In 1999, Chris re-emerges and plans a formal comeback before the new millennium, with his new album, The Lamb being touted as the album of the new decade. His girlfriend, a back up dancer, forgives him for his sex addiction. But Chris's life is cut short before his plans can become fully realized.

VH1 and NBC TV Specials

In addition to an album and an SNL appearance where Garth Brooks appeared and performed as Chris Gaines, there were two specials about Chris Gaines. One was filmed for NBC and the other was a VH1 Behind the Music mockumentary about Chris Gaines's life, with appearances by Billy Joel, Don Was and record executive Joe Smith, who collaborated on the project with Garth Brooks.

Gallery

The bizarre history of Garth Brooks' alter ego Chris Gaines.

Garth Brooks interviewed on Late Night with Conan O'Brien about his Chris Gaines alter ego.