Latest news with #RockandRollHallofFame
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Are Music and Other Celebrity Films Killing the Documentary?
Glance at the list of top contenders for the nonfiction special this Emmy season and you'll find some big musical talent: Bruce Springsteen. Celine Dion. John Williams. The Beatles. Yet far from a thrilling foray into the modern canon, these Rock and Roll Hall of Fame excursions suggest a world in which nonfiction TV has become an exercise in brand management, say documentary leaders, marginalizing robust storytelling and journalism. More from The Hollywood Reporter Roy Wood Jr. Mocks White House, CNN and Patti LuPone in Peabody Awards Monologue How Reginald Hudlin and Shola Lynch Put Together the Greatest Call Sheet Ever Questlove Reveals the Standout Musical Performance He Omitted From 'Ladies & Gentlemen ... 50 Years of SNL Music' - And Why The Emmys documentary special once covered a wide range of social topics. Beginning some 25 years ago, it included the stories of Vietnam POWs and prison cover-ups, child beauty-pageant contestants and racial inequities. But in recent years this has morphed. In 2024, four of the five nominees were authorized celebrity biographies. The year before? The same. Don't count on much changing this season: Artist-friendly music docs flood the space. 'A lot of this is the shift to streaming where companies are looking for names that are reliable and global, and what's being said in the films doesn't really matter,' says Thom Powers, a veteran documentary programmer at Toronto, Doc NYC and other festivals. 'It becomes less about content or rigor and more about marketing.' That these shifts are happening at a time of crisis — from social injustice to climate disasters to the slashing of the federal safety net — makes the tragedy that much greater, say nonfiction experts. Documentaries are unavailable at the exact moment they're needed most. Three veteran filmmakers, who all asked not to be identified because they did not want to jeopardize even hypothetical partnerships, expressed their concern and pointed to the shift in the doc power base from onetime rulers PBS and HBO to Netflix, Disney and Apple, which they say prioritize polish and name recognition. Some of the diminishment, they say, can also be traced to when streamers began running commercials, as Netflix did in late 2022, giving them a weaker stomach for content that might alienate advertisers. What's more, these platforms sometimes pay their subjects, turning them into de facto directors. After so many decades when artists, actors and athletes were forced to cede control to the companies, record labels and teams they work for, the pendulum has swung the other way. Not that the companies don't have their say: A film's need for music rights and the increasingly tight oversight by the entities that control them can mean even basic humanizing details are left out. Many nonfiction films these days are about only what the subject wants us to see — less documentaries than documercials. The crisis came to the fore in the fall with the revelation that Ezra Edelman, the creative force behind the Emmy-winning 2016 docuseries O.J.: Made in America, had directed a similarly ambitious piece for Netflix about the beautiful genius and alleged malevolent manipulations (and worse) of Prince. But with both the lawyers and rights-management company Primary Wave that were in charge of the musician's estate worried about the effects on Prince's catalog sales, at least some among the estate overseers reportedly threatened to use a clause in the contract that would require the nine-hour film to be cut down to six. The move led to the completed piece being permanently shelved. A new, more burnished authorized movie not directed by Edelman will now rise in its place. One hardly needs a nine-hour plumbing of the dark soul of Paisley Park to understand what's being lost. Time and again, the artist-approved film glides past the meatiest material. Of the Springsteen-centric Road Diary, The Hollywood Reporter's review offered that 'an in-depth excavation or an exhaustive accounting, this is not.' Of Music by John Williams, The Guardian said, 'The man behind the maestro remains elusive.' Of I Am: Celine Dion, Variety noted that the movie was 'managed to within an inch of its life…there's a sense the filmmaker didn't want to include anything her subject wouldn't approve of.' The shift is surprisingly recent. Just six years ago, the winner of the Emmy for doc special was Leaving Neverland, HBO's unflinching look at alleged Michael Jackson abuses from two alleged victims — a far cry from last year's winner about the genius of Jim Henson that was authorized by his family and came out from Disney. The company was doubtless happy not to deal with Neverland-level legal headaches. (There does still seem to be journalism within certain narrow documentary genres, like true crime, which recently yielded Liz Garbus' robust Netflix docuseries Gone Girls.) Doc-world veterans point to the size of the streamers as a culprit. 'It's a difficult environment now in the United States for controversial content,' says Alex Gibney, the Oscar- and Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker (Going Clear won the nonfiction special Emmy in 2015). 'With consolidation comes a belief that you can talk to everybody, so you don't want to offend anybody.' Gibney's own journalistic film about Benjamin Netanyahu, The Bibi Files, couldn't find a major network or streamer at this year's Toronto International Film Festival, joining another acclaimed TIFF work, Steve Pink's anti-Trump doc The Last Republican, in the distribution desert. Instead, filmmakers say the documentaries that land big deals are well-meaning but ultimately unrigorous — fan worship in auteurist clothing. Serving fans is hardly a crime, of course, and many of the music films can charm or educate the faithful. But filmmakers say they worry that these soft-focus looks are crowding out serious work. And they ruefully register the irony that artists whose genius came from exploring messy contradictions often wind up with treatments largely free of them. The music industry personalities behind these movies maintain that their efforts serve creativity in their own way, and that while they may have a measured hand in how they handle sensitive or controversial material, they still aim to cast an illuminating light. 'The artists have to be willing to tell their story, and that means the good and the bad, the wins and the struggles,' says Tom Mackay, president of premium content at Sony Music Entertainment, which has been behind a host of recent music docs, including films on Cyndi Lauper, June Carter Cash, Luther Vandross and this year's Celine Dion picture. 'It can't be a two-hour victory lap.' Mackay acknowledges that a built-in audience is part of the appeal in a difficult media environment. Distributors can count on 'that global fan base to migrate to that platform to watch that film,' he says. While the presence of these movies is held up as an example of journalism marginalization, those involved with them say they're actually responding to a deterioration in reporting culture and partly even addressing it. 'Journalism — especially music journalism — has changed; there aren't as many music outlets and not nearly as many in-depth articles about musicians as there used to be,' says Deborah Klein, a manager at Primary Wave whose clients include Melissa Etheridge and Cypress Hill, both of whom have been the subjects of recent docs. 'This is a way to get to know them a little better.' Still, many of the projects are driven by business models. Conglomerates with music catalogs don't need to pay licensing fees, eliminating a main budgetary expense. They then get paid when they sell their movie to a platform and grab another bite at the revenue apple when the ensuing popularity leads to increased streams or album sales — a triumph less of cinema than synergy. It is difficult to avoid the monetizing truth that Disney+ is the company putting out the story of Star Wars composer John Williams or that NBC streaming arm Peacock is behind Ladies & Gentlemen…50 Years of SNL Music. A 'universe' logic abides: Just as Disney produces Marvel and Star Wars shows by the bucket, it's following the template in nonfiction, peddling three movies to which it owns the rights, Michael Lindsay-Hogg original 1970 Let It Be, Peter Jackson's four-hour 2021 restoration of the footage from that film The Beatles: Get Back, and, now, the Scorsese-produced Beatles '64. Any company worth its salt engages in cross-promotion. But producing and distributing films with a commoditized-package strategy for a band that spent much of its career fighting commoditized packaging can set off the irony meter. Welcome to the Lennonverse. Natalia Nastaskin, chief content officer of Primary Wave, says that while 'we do hope that there's impact on catalog,' she also believes 'there's an opportunity for revelatory storytelling' with these movies. She called them 'another form of artistic expression.' But documentary directors say the approach makes for a very different environment than the one they're used to. 'Getting called into a meeting on these projects, you can sometimes feel more like you're filling a marketing hole than offering an artistic vision,' says one. Sheila Nevins, the former HBO executive and so-called 'godmother' of the modern documentary who has been nominated for the Emmy nonfiction special some 30 times, says she has been disheartened by the business and creative tilt in the past several years. 'The documentary is in hiding,' she says flatly. Still, she believes that even if the biggest streamers don't take many risks, a groundswell of documentarians as well as audiences eager to understand the challenges facing the country will emerge to resurrect the form. 'Just because these companies don't want to go too deep into the water doesn't mean docs are coming to an end,' Nevins notes, suggesting the possibility of private investment to produce and distribute films. 'These filmmakers will come back with their fists on fire. And they're going to punch very hard.' This story first appeared in a May stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe. Best of The Hollywood Reporter Most Anticipated Concert Tours of 2025: Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar & SZA, Sabrina Carpenter and More Hollywood's Most Notable Deaths of 2025 Hollywood's Highest-Profile Harris Endorsements: Taylor Swift, George Clooney, Bruce Springsteen and More
Scottish Sun
14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Legendary 70s band drop massive clue they're reuniting 41 years after last live performance
The band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002 AN iconic US rock band has teased fans with news of a possible upcoming reunion. The acclaimed rock stars - who were together for 16 years - haven't performed since 1975. Advertisement 6 The video footage simply read the date "6/5/2025" Credit: tiktok/@talkingheads 6 A reunion for the ground-breaking rock band could be on the cards Credit: tiktok/@talkingheads New Wave band Talking Heads, best known for their hits Once in a Lifetime and Road to Nowhere could be reforming following a cryptic social media clue. Excited music lovers have gone wild after the band's official Instagram page posted an obscure video animation. The short footage simply features the date: "6/5/2025." The precise date refers back to June 5, 1975, when Talking Heads played its first-ever show at the CBGB club in New York. Advertisement Fans begged: "Just get back together for some shows and make the world a brighter place!" A second penned: "You teases!" A third argued: "Give the people what they really want and need, and that's a tour!!!!" The band has not played together since their last gig on February 6, 1984 in New Zealand. Advertisement In January 2024, it was reported that the band turned down tens of millions to reunite after being approached to perform at six to eight festivals, including headlining slots. Despite receiving an alleged £62m offer, Billboard claimed the group's four members - David Byrne, Jerry Harrison, Frantz and Tina Weymouth - walked away. 70s pop legend eyes a spot at Glastonbury as he launches huge comeback with new album and doc The band released their final album Naked in 1988 before disbanding in 1991. Talking Heads rebranded as Shrunken Heads and toured briefly before going their separate ways. Advertisement In 2003, Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time included four albums by the band. Their songs Psycho Killer, Life During Wartime and Once in a Lifetime were included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. 6 Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth, David Byrne and Jerry Harrison in 2023 Credit: Getty 6 The band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002 Credit: Alamy Advertisement 6 The New York City-based band formed in 1975 Credit: Alamy
The Irish Sun
14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Legendary 70s band drop massive clue they're reuniting 41 years after last live performance
AN iconic US rock band has teased fans with news of a possible upcoming reunion. The acclaimed rock stars - who were together for 16 years - haven't performed since 1975. 6 The video footage simply read the date "6/5/2025" Credit: tiktok/@talkingheads 6 A reunion for the ground-breaking rock band could be on the cards Credit: tiktok/@talkingheads New Wave band , best known for their hits Once in a Lifetime and Road to Nowhere could be reforming following a cryptic social media clue. Excited music lovers have gone wild after the band's official Instagram page posted an obscure video animation. The short footage simply features the date: "6/5/2025." The precise date refers back to June 5, 1975, when Talking Heads played its first-ever show at the CBGB club in New York. Read more Fans begged: "Just get back together for some shows and make the world a brighter place!" A second penned: "You teases!" A third argued: "Give the people what they really want and need, and that's a tour!!!!" The band has not played together since their last gig on February 6, 1984 in New Zealand. Most read in Celebrity In January 2024, it was reported that the band turned down tens of millions to reunite after being approached to perform at six to eight festivals, including headlining slots. Despite receiving an alleged £62m offer, 70s pop legend eyes a spot at Glastonbury as he launches huge comeback with new album and doc The band released their final album Naked in 1988 before disbanding in 1991. Talking Heads rebranded as Shrunken Heads and toured briefly before going their separate ways. In 2003, Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time included four albums by the band. Their songs Psycho Killer, Life During Wartime and Once in a Lifetime were included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. 6 Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth, David Byrne and Jerry Harrison in 2023 Credit: Getty 6 The band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002 Credit: Alamy 6 The New York City-based band formed in 1975 Credit: Alamy 6 The band split in December 1991 Credit: Alamy
Perth Now
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Carole King praises inspirational Taylor Swift
Carole King has praised Taylor Swift as an inspiration. The 'Cruel Summer' hitmaker revealed on Friday (30.05.25) that she had regained control of the rights to all the songs from her early albums, 'Taylor Swift', 'Fearless', 'Speak Now', 'Red', '1989' and 'Reputation', and the 83-year-old singer-songwriter has joined Taylor in celebrating the milestone. Carole shared the announcement on her Instagram Story and over a photo of Taylor raising her hands in celebration, she wrote: 'You continue to inspire! [heart, heart hands and music notes emojis] (sic)" Taylor was furious in 2019 when music manager Scooter Braun bought her former label, Big Machine Records, and her master recordings, which he then sold on to Shamrock Capital in 2020, prompting her to re-record and release 'Taylor's Versions' of 'Fearless', 'Speak Now', 'Red', and '1999'. But on Friday, the 35-year-old pop star shared with fans the news she had reaquired the rights to her records. She shared in an emotional post on her website 'I'm trying to gather my thoughts into something coherent, but right now my mind is just a slideshow. A flashback sequence of all the times I daydreamed about, wished for, and pined away for a chance to get to tell you this news. All the times I was thiiiiiiiiiiiiis close , reaching out for it, only for it to fall through. I almost stopped thinking it could ever happen, after 20 years of having the carrot dangled then yanked away. But that's all in the past now. 'I've been bursting into tears of joy at random intervals ever since I found out that this is really happening. I really get to say these words: All of the music I've ever made... now belongs... to me. And all my music videos. All the concert films. The album art and photography. The unreleased songs. The memories. The magic. The madness. Every single era. My entire life's work." Taylor went on to add that buying back the rights was her 'greatest dream come true' and she praised those at investment firm Shamrock Capital for offering her the opportunity. The 'Bad Blood' singer has been a fan of Carole for many years, and in 2021, she introduced the 'Where You Lead' musician for her induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She said: "I cannot remember a time when I didn't know Carole King's music. 'I was raised by two of her biggest fans, who taught me the basic truths of life as they saw it: That you should treat people the way you want to be treated, that you must believe you can achieve whatever you want to in life and that Carole King is the greatest songwriter of all time... 'Carole taught artists like me that telling your own story is worth the work and struggle it takes to earn the opportunity for your story to be heard."
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist takes plea deal in fatal crash
Former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer has accepted a plea deal to avoid jail time in connection with the death of a pedestrian in Alhambra, California, in March of last year. Klinghoffer, 45, pleaded no contest to misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence in an Alhambra courtroom Wednesday, according to Rolling Stone. He received one year of informal probation and 60 days of community labor. Klinghoffer was driving a 2022 GMC Yukon when he struck and killed 47-year-old Israel Sanchez in a crosswalk on March 18, 2024. Security video of the incident shows Klinghoffer immediately stopped and called 911. Sanchez suffered blunt force trauma to the head and died from his injuries hours later. Klinghoffer also faces a wrongful death and negligence lawsuit filed by Ashley Sanchez, the victim's daughter. Klinghoffer joined the Los Angeles-based Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2009 after guitarist John Frusciante's departure. He became the youngest member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when he was inducted with the band at age 32 in 2012. He left the group in 2019 when Frusciante returned and later performed with Pearl Jam and Jane's Addiction. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
