Stars come out for Bill Murray rockumentary ‘Rock the Kasbah’

A parade of cameos by real-life rock, pop and country stars figures to boost the cinema verite atmosphere of “Rock the Kasbah,” the forthcoming rockumentary about a washed-up manager on the comeback trail starring Bill Murray.

In addition to a featured role for actress-singer Zooey Deschanel as the latest drugged-out client of Murray’s character, Richie Lanz, “Rock the Kasbah” includes onscreen testimonials from E Street band singer and guitarist Steve Van Zandt, indie rock singer Jenny Lewis, country music kingpin Willie Nelson, Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood and Grateful Dead founding member Bob Weir.

It also name-checks Lanz’s contributions to pop music history including his discovery of Madonna, his suggestion to Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash to try wearing a top hat on stage and his crucial role at Woodstock (“Jimi Hendrix played ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ because I asked him to!”).

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“Rock the Kasbah” is set to open Oct. 23, and is directed by Oscar-winner Barry Levinson (“Diner,” “Rain Man,” “Sleepers”). It was written by former Crawdaddy magazine writer Mitch Glazer, who also appears in the film that follows Murray’s character to Afghanistan, where he discovers an unknown singer he hopes to usher to stardom and reignite his own career.

Murray and Glazer previously teamed on the 1988 comedy “Scrooged!”

Watch the latest trailer for “Rock the Kasbah,” which also co-stars Kate Hudson and Bruce Willis, above.

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