CNN selects their top five rock documentaries for the silver screen. Interesting and subjective, although I might have made it a top 10 and included the Talking Heads’ “Stop Making Sense” or Wilco’s “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart.”
Thanks to Frank Mayeran for the link.
The writing duo that produced this year’s Beatles-inspired film, ”Across the Universe,” is now looking to do an animated movie based on the songs of the Rolling Stones.
A brutal review from Paste magazine about “August Rush” a cheesy Hollywood movie that has nothing to do with creativity and everything to do with schmaltz. Forget this junk and rent “Hard Day’s Night” or “Spinal Tap.”
2007 is shaping up to be a big year for films about or inspired by musical themes. Peter Bogdonavich just debuted a new documentary this week on Tom Petty called “Runnin’ Down a Dream” at the New York Film Festival (hear that Phoenix Cinemas?). The same festival also saw the debut of a new documentary on Bob Dylan, “The Other Side of the Mirror” which will soon be followed by “I’m Not There” a strange celluloid tribute to Mr. Zimmerman featuring six different actors doing their take on old blue eyes. “Across the Universe” a film loosely based on the Beatles songbook, came and went this summer and “Once,” a film about two songwriters in love is still gathering great reviews (and probably playing somewhere in Ann Arbor).
For 2008: Martin Scorsese who will release a much-anticipated documentary on the Stones has announced plans to do a film on the life of George Harrison.
I had a chance to catch a sneak peak of Sean Penn’s soon to be released, “Into the Wild,” last Thursday. The movie was brilliant, any Oscar buzz is spot on. Especially for Eddie Vedder.
For those who don’t know, Eddie Vedder wrote all of the songs on the soundtrack and had a hand in the score. My friend is a huge Eddie Vedder fan, so she wore her “I Love Eddie Vedder” t-shirt. The girl who took our tickets did not know who Eddie Vedder was.
Is that possible?
Am I old, or do I just have an unrealistic view of the importance of the grunge music that I, and many of my generation, once held so dear? Freakin’ Eddie Vedder! He was in Singles! He hated MTV before it was cool to hate MTV!
This girl wasn’t even that much younger than me. Girls, especially, are SUPPOSED to know Eddie Vedder. He’s the cute one, right? That’s what all the girls used to tell me. They loved him, didn’t they? I thought… Never mind.
My world is now turned upside down.
Eddie Vedder will perform at this year’s Toronto Film Festival in support of “Body of War,” a documentary to which he contributed two songs. The doc, which was co-directed by Oprah’s dad, Phil Donahue, explores the life of a soldier paralyzed in Iraq.
Vedder also appears on the soundtrack of Sean Penn’s, “Into the Wild,” which will premiere at the festival, as well.
Something tells me Seattle’s favorite son might be off Bill O’Reilly’s Christmas card list.