A new documentary is in the works about acclaimed singer/songwriter Jill Sobule, who tragically died in a house fire in Woodbury, Minneapolis, in May 2025 at age 66. The film is tentatively titled Jill Sobule: She’s Gonna Sing! You’re Gonna Listen!, and its producer/director, Tom Ropelewski, recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the project.
Videos by American Songwriter
The movie features a variety of Sobule’s famous friends and music collaborators. Among them are Tom Morello, The Simpsons creator Matt Groening, comedian Margaret Cho, X’s John Doe, jazz guitarist Bill Frisell, Letters to Cleo’s Kay Hanley, and The Bongos’ Richard Barone.
[RELATED: “I Kissed a Girl” Singer Dies in House Fire]
In a promo video for the Kickstarter campaign, Ropelewski explained that he began working on the documentary with Sobule’s full cooperation a couple of years ago. The filmmaker captured Jill on tour and while she made her final album, a cast recording of her autobiographical musical F— 7th Grade. The musical focused on Sobule coming to terms with coming out as gay when she was a teenager in Denver. Jill first performed F— 7th Grade at The Wild Project in New York City in 2024.
Sadly, in the middle of filming the documentary, Sobule died in a fire while visiting friends in Minnesota.
Ropelewski on What He Now Hopes the Film Will Accomplish
In the promo video, Ropelewski explained that what he now hopes his film will accomplish.
“I started this project to help Jill promote the next phase of her career and to introduce folks who didn’t know her to this extraordinary body of music,” he noted. “And now, since her death, this film has become something else. Now, I hope it’s gonna be a film that will expand Jill’s legacy in the world.”
The filmmaker added, “So I think, for those who knew her or experienced her in concert, this will give you an in-depth, intimate behind-the-scenes look at her life and her music. If you don’t know Jill’s music, it’s gonna be a discovery of an incredible wealth of music that you’ll be shocked at the quality and depth of this stuff, and the fact that you don’t know about it.”
Ropelewski’s Kickstarter campaign will run until January 16, 2026, which would have been Sobule’s 67th birthday. For more information, visit JillsFilm.com.
More About Jill Sobule
Sobule is best known for her minor 1990s hits “I Kissed a Girl” and “Supermodel.” The latter tune appeared on the soundtrack of the popular 1995 comedy flick Clueless.
Jill also was featured in the 2004 comedy-drama film Mind the Gap, and contributed six songs to its soundtrack.
About Tom Ropelewski
Ropelewski’s credits include directing and co-writing the screenplay for the films Madhouse and Look Who’s Talking Now! He also co-wrote the 1988 movie Loverboy and penned the screenplay for the 2000 Madonna film The Next Big Thing.
(Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
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