Moviefone Editorial

Tag: documentary

  • ‘Piece By Piece’ Interview: Director Morgan Neville

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    Opening in theaters on October 11th is the new documentary/biopic about the life and career of Pharrell Williams called ‘Piece By Piece’, which was completely animated with LEGO.

    Directed by Morgan Neville (‘Won’t You Be My Neighbor?’), the film features LEGO animated interviews with Pharrell, Gwen Stefani, Kendrick Lamar, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Busta Rhymes, Jay-Z, and Snoop Dogg.

    Related Article: Marisa Abela and Director Sam Taylor-Johnson Talk ‘Back to Black’

    Director Morgan Neville in 'Piece By Piece, a Focus Features release. Photo: Courtesy of Focus Features / © 2024 Focus Features LLC.
    Director Morgan Neville in ‘Piece By Piece, a Focus Features release. Photo: Courtesy of Focus Features / © 2024 Focus Features LLC.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with filmmaker Morgan Neville about his work on ‘Piece By Piece’, collaborating with Pharrell and LEGO on the groundbreaking project, making an animated movie for the first time, whether the film is a documentary or a biopic, conducting the interviews, becoming a LEGO figure himself, and the emotional connection the audience has with the characters in the movie.

    You can read our full interview below or click on the video player above to watch the interview.

    Director Morgan Neville discusses 'Piece By Piece'.
    Director Morgan Neville discusses ‘Piece By Piece’.

    Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about how this unique project came together and what it was like working with Pharrell Williams to tell his story on screen?

    Morgan Neville: This crazy idea came from Pharrell, where he apparently had the idea that if he was ever going to do anything like a documentary, it would be in LEGO. Apparently, everybody he told this to said, “That’s a terrible idea,” or “It’s a crazy idea. It’s an unattainable idea.” Fortunately, he was a big fan of my films, and he said, “I want Morgan to do it.” I met him, and the way he pitched me was, “It would be interesting if you made a documentary about my life, and when you were done with it, you threw out all the images and just replaced it with LEGO.” When he said that, I got excited. I didn’t think it was crazy. Well, maybe I did think it was crazy. But the craziness of it is what I thought was interesting because it was so unusual. I didn’t even know what it would mean, and we just spent years in production figuring out what it could mean. But it felt like it opened so many creative doors. From that, we just had this incredible burst of creative freedom, which is what you want. I felt like that was Pharrell producing me, like, “Here are the ingredients. Now you go make it.”

    Pharrell Williams stars in director Morgan Neville’s 'Piece By Piece', a Focus Features release. Photo: Courtesy of Focus Features / © 2024 Focus Features LLC.
    Pharrell Williams stars in director Morgan Neville’s ‘Piece By Piece’, a Focus Features release. Photo: Courtesy of Focus Features / © 2024 Focus Features LLC.

    MF: Before making this movie you were primarily a documentary filmmaker, what was it like for you to direct an animated movie and work with LEGO on this project?

    MN: The documentary process and the animation process are opposites. The documentary process is revision and looseness. You don’t have a lot of control. You’re just trying to kind of stitch together the messiness of reality into something. In animation, you’re God. You get to build the world. You get to put everybody wherever you want them and make everybody say whatever you want them to say. So, there was a tension between those two things that I really wanted to keep. I think it was interesting. Rather than erasing the imperfections, I wanted to embrace the imperfections and keep the grammar of documentary going. There were many times in working on the film with my animation director, who is fantastic, and our studios, that they would say, “Well, you don’t do it that way in animation.” I was like, “Oh, but we are. We are. We’re going to try.” Whenever they said, “Oh, you don’t do it that way,” I’m like, “Why not? Why can’t we do it that way?” So, there was an interesting tension there that I think bore incredible fruit. It was the kind of thing where I knew my ignorance could be a bit of an asset, like let me insist on doing things this way just to see what it brings, and at the same time, also embracing the freedom of animation where, particularly when songs come in in the movie, anything can happen. So, me saying, “Well, we’re not in a documentary anymore. We’re in his head and in his head, anything can happen. We can be underwater, and we can be floating. Let’s embrace that too.” That, for me, having done this for a long time, was so incredibly liberating.

    (L to R) Jay-Z and Pharrell Williams in director Morgan Neville’s 'Piece By Piece', a Focus Features release. Photo: Courtesy of Focus Features / © 2024 Focus Features LLC.
    (L to R) Jay-Z and Pharrell Williams in director Morgan Neville’s ‘Piece By Piece’, a Focus Features release. Photo: Courtesy of Focus Features / © 2024 Focus Features LLC.

    MF: While the film is an animated documentary, it’s also an animated biopic about Pharrell’s life. Was that the goal or something you found naturally through the process of making this movie?

    MN: It’s a natural process and I feel like this is true of a lot of my filmmaking storytelling in documentary, is that it’s not so much that I want to give you all the achievements of Pharrell Williams, because that is an eight-hour film. It’s more like, how do I tell a story about a Black nerd from the projects who doesn’t fit in, and then suddenly he completely fits in, and what does that mean to his own creative voice, and how does he stay in touch with it? It’s a story of a creative person on this journey. That gets me excited, and that is a story that I identify with as a creative person. So that part of it, I kind of fully embraced, that we were making a movie that way. The other layer to it is that it’s a musical in that I really listened to all the music he did. In my Spotify, I have 10 playlists of Pharrell songs he sang, songs he wrote, songs inspired by, songs with his solo albums, and songs with N.E.R.D. and The Neptunes. I spent a lot of time listening to everything and trying to find songs that spoke to me or felt like they were telling a story about Pharrell’s life and then trying to really use the music to tell the story as much as we could too, which is great. Then on top of that, being able to then show the film to Pharrell and say, “Okay, Pharrell, why don’t you write some new songs based on my view of your story?” He said to me that because he was looking at himself through my eyes, it made it way easier for him to write music as opposed to if somebody just said, “Hey, why don’t you write a song about your life?” But the fact that he was able to see it through my eyes gave him a focus that allowed him to do it. I love all that. I love that creative feedback loop that we created.

    Snoop Dogg in director Morgan Neville’s 'Piece By Piece', a Focus Features release. Photo: Courtesy of Focus Features / © 2024 Focus Features LLC.
    Snoop Dogg in director Morgan Neville’s ‘Piece By Piece’, a Focus Features release. Photo: Courtesy of Focus Features / © 2024 Focus Features LLC.

    MF: Can you talk about the interviews you did for this film and how did people react when you told them they would be depicted as LEGO figurines?

    MN: Well, we didn’t tell anybody in the beginning that it was going to be LEGO. It was kind of a secret. It’s not that we were trying to deceive people, but we told people it was going to be a documentary and we were going to animate it. Five years ago, we started these interviews, and we didn’t want it getting out, but we also didn’t want people necessarily performing or thinking, “Oh, I’m talking as a LEGO minifigure.” So, we just tried to keep it organic like I normally would on a documentary. Then over years of animation, we started to tell people. I started to show some of the people in the film their character designs. I have to say, every single person was excited. Who doesn’t want to be a minifigure in LEGO? So, a lot of people, even people who were kind of like, “What? Really? Is this going to work,” every one of those people now wants their own minifigure. So, I think it was something that just clicked so well that turned out better than I could have expected. It was exciting.

    (L to R) Pharrell Williams and director Morgan Neville in their film 'Piece By Piece', a Focus Features release. Photo: Courtesy of Focus Features / © 2024 Focus Features LLC.
    (L to R) Pharrell Williams and director Morgan Neville in their film ‘Piece By Piece’, a Focus Features release. Photo: Courtesy of Focus Features / © 2024 Focus Features LLC.

    MF: You are also featured in the film. What was that like for you as a filmmaker to be a character in the movie and what did you think about your own LEGO representation?

    MN: Yeah, I’m not normally a character in my movies, but this was such an unusual movie that I felt like if I was honest about my role in the film, it helped the audience understand how we got here. So really it was a way of me solving a story point, but it’s real. That’s really me trying to figure out what this movie is. So, in that way, even though the film is a documentary, it also plays like a film about a guy trying to make a documentary about Pharrell too. All those different gears, the lines of what’s documentary and what’s musical and what’s a biopic, to me, you have a lot of those questions going in, but hopefully when you come out, it just makes sense.

    (L to R) Director Morgan Neville and Pharrell Williams in their film 'Piece By Piece', a Focus Features release. Photo: Courtesy of Focus Features / © 2024 Focus Features LLC.
    (L to R) Director Morgan Neville and Pharrell Williams in their film ‘Piece By Piece’, a Focus Features release. Photo: Courtesy of Focus Features / © 2024 Focus Features LLC.

    MF: Finally, have you been surprised by the emotional connection audiences are having with these plastic characters?

    MN: Yeah. I was worried because a LEGO minifigure is very reductive. Characters have no nose; they have no ears. You can’t see them cry or sweat. There’s a lot of restrictions. The question was, if I’m showing close-ups of a minifigure in an interview, is that compelling? Is it going to be emotional? Is it going to connect? Right when we started doing tests, it started to work. Kind of my own theory on it is that you project a lot of yourself into LEGO because it’s low resolution in that way, that you can see yourself in characters more. Now a lot of people who see the film say, “I forgot I was watching a LEGO movie,” and I love that. There are a lot of people saying that they get emotional watching it, and I felt emotional about making it, but you never know if that’s going to translate. So that’s been one of the best things to come out of finally being able to show people this film is just seeing how it connects so deeply with folks.

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    What is the plot of ‘Piece By Piece’?

    The film documents Pharrell Williams’s life and musical career, incorporating Williams’s faith and expressing his artistry by means of LEGO.

    Who is in the cast of ‘Piece By Piece’?

    • Pharrell Williams as himself
    • Morgan Neville as himself
    • Gwen Stefani as herself
    • Kendrick Lamar as himself
    • Timbaland as himself
    • Justin Timberlake as himself
    • Busta Rhymes as himself
    • Jay-Z as himself
    • Snoop Dogg as himself
    (L to R) Daft Punk and Pharrell Williams in director Morgan Neville’s 'Piece By Piece', a Focus Features release.
    (L to R) Daft Punk and Pharrell Williams in director Morgan Neville’s ‘Piece By Piece’, a Focus Features release. Photo: Courtesy of Focus Features / © 2024 Focus Features LLC.

    Other Movies Similar to ‘Piece By Piece’:

    Buy Tickets: ‘Piece By Piece’ Movie Showtimes

    Buy Pharrell Williams Music on Amazon

     

     

  • Star Wars Celebration: ‘Light & Magic’ Presentation

    Ron Howard, Lynwen Brennan, Phil Tippett, Rose Duignan, Joe Johnston and Dennis Muren
    (L-R) Ron Howard, Lynwen Brennan, Phil Tippett, Rose Duignan, Joe Johnston and Dennis Muren attend the “Light & Magic” presentation at Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, California on May 27, 2022. The ILM documentary series premieres exclusively on Disney+ July 27, 2022. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney).

    Day two of Star Wars Celebration continued on Friday at the Anaheim Convention Center as fans staggered into the big hall for the ‘Light & Magic’ presentation to hear more about the upcoming Disney+ documentary series that will take viewers behind the scenes at Industrial Light & Magic.

    On hand virtually was the documentary’s director Lawrence Kasdan, who also wrote ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ and ‘Return of the Jedi.’ Kasdan was supposed to appear in person but tested positive for COVID just before the event. However, taking the stage were ‘Star Wars’ filmmakers Ron Howard (‘Solo’), and Joe Johnston (‘A New Hope’), as well ILM veterans Dennis Muren, Phil Tippett, and Rose Duignan, and the GM of Lucasfilm Lynwen Brennan.

    The new series, which was directed by Kasdan, will explore the history of Industrial Light & Magic or ILM, and their impact on the history of cinema. Kasdan began by saying, “I’ve known ILM for 40 years I but didn’t know how it happened. It’s the greatest effects house in the world.”

    “What I did know was ILM is a house of geniuses and somehow George Lucas had the vision to bring these people together,” Kasdan continued. “He was somehow, with John Dykstra, able to bring these people together and create a place that has been unmatched in these 45-50 years. At first, nobody knew exactly how it was going to work and there was a lot of improvising that lead to a lot of communication. When someone needed help, they would go to someone else and they always would try to help. It’s been that kind of environment where geniuses help geniuses.”

    Lawrence Kasdan (via video)
    Lawrence Kasdan (via video) attends the “Light & Magic” presentation at Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, California on May 27, 2022. The ILM documentary series premieres exclusively on Disney+ July 27, 2022. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney).

    Director Ron Howard is an executive producer on ‘Light & Magic’ and has quite the history with George Lucas, which goes all the way back to ‘American Graffiti.’ Howard spoke about the first time he saw ‘Star Wars.’ “It was mind-blowing,” he said. “I saw it opening weekend, and I left the theater and said to my wife, do you want to see it again? So, we saw it twice on opening day.” The director also talked about how Lucas explained to him on the set of ‘Graffiti’ that he wanted to apply what Stanley Kubrick did in ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ on a ‘Flash Gordon’ type serial, which of course became ‘Star Wars.’

    Joe Johnston, who began his career as a Visual Effects artist on the original ‘Star Wars’ trilogy and has since gone on to direct movies like ‘The Rocketeer’ and ‘Captain America: The First Avenger,’ discussed how he came to work with Lucas. “I was working as an industrial designer when I saw this add on the wall that they were looking for painters on a space movie,” explained Johnston. “When I found out what this job was, I realized that I could design things that look great but don’t need to work. I felt like a fish out of water until I realized I was part of this family like everyone else.”

    “I wish Larry would had sent me a list of the questions he was going to ask,” Johnston joked about his interview for the documentary. “He asked me things that I had forgotten about, and it brought back those memories. What a fantastic achievement he’s made with this series. It really tells the story of ILM.”

    “Larry did a fantastic job,” Lucasfilm’s Lynwen Brennan said of the project. “But the series is really about the people. We have an amazing team, and I have the greatest job in the world. The thing that unites us is that ‘we can do anything’ spirit. There is no hoarding of the secrets, everyone works together and there is always a sense that anything is possible. I’m really standing on the shoulders of giants.”

    Joe Johnston
    Joe Johnston attends the “Light & Magic” presentation at Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, California on May 27, 2022. The ILM documentary series premieres exclusively on Disney+ July 27, 2022. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney).

    Visual Effects supervisor Phil Tippett said of watching the completed documentary, “I binge watched the thing and Larry did a fantastic job. It made me wistful for that time. It’s very meaningful and he did a great job.” Tippett also discussed some of his early character designs and that he would give them strange names like “Calamari Man,” who eventually became Admiral Ackbar. “I had no idea who Admiral Ackbar was,” he said. ‘We were just coming up with stupid names!”

    ILM’s Rose Duignan told a funny story about being confused regarding who was going to interview her for the documentary. “I was told someone named Larry was going to interview me. I asked him how I knew him, and he said, ‘I wrote ‘The Empire Strikes Back.’ Oh, that’s how I know you, you’re Lawrence Kasdan!”

    Duignan also told an amusing story of ILM’s early days and how ILM founder John Dykstra would amuse himself by using a crane to drop refrigerators into a hot tub. One day, George Lucas and several 20th Century Fox executives pulled up in a limo and once they saw what was going on, turned around and left. They never even got out of the limo.

    Visual Effects artist Dennis Muren talked about his experience working with George Lucas on the first ‘Star Wars.’ “We wanted to please him,” Muren said. “I could look at those things and imagine them in motion. There’s nothing like being given great stuff. I knew how to bring those together in front of the camera. The last four or five months, it all kind of came together. To have it be a success was unbelievable.”

    Ron Howard
    Ron Howard attends the “Light & Magic” presentation at Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, California on May 27, 2022. The ILM documentary series premieres exclusively on Disney+ July 27, 2022. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney).

    Howard not only directed ‘Solo’ but his daughter, Bryce Dallas Howard, has directed episodes of both ‘The Mandalorian’ and ‘The Book of Boba Fett,’ and he talked about how ‘Star Wars’ has become a Howard Family business. “Bryce has been working on ‘Mandalorian’ and that makes me a proud dad. The breakthroughs keep coming and its always about ideas first. It all goes back to George saying, here’s what is in my head so how do we do it?” The crowd then began shouting ‘Solo 2,’ to which Howard replied, “I’m not in charge of that.”

    Finally, Kasdan discussed his hopes for the upcoming documentary series. “Not only did I want to tell the story of this group, but there was a secret desire I had for this show, as I was making it, I was inspired about creativity and my desire was to make this for my grandchildren. I think that is at the heart of this thing. I want people to know that problems can be overcome, and people will support them in that. If they get that out of this I will be happy.”

    The ‘Light & Magic’ documentary series will premiere on Disney+ in July.

    Rose Duignan, Dennis Muren, Phil Tippett, Joe Johnston, Ron Howard, and Lynwen Brennan
    (L-R) Rose Duignan, Dennis Muren, Phil Tippett, Joe Johnston, Ron Howard, and Lynwen Brennan attend the “Light & Magic” presentation at Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, California on May 27, 2022. The ILM documentary series premieres exclusively on Disney+ July 27, 2022. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney).

  • Frank Marshall Talks ‘Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story’

     

    Earth, Wind, and Fire
    Earth, Wind, and Fire at New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Courtesy of The Kennedy/Marshall Company. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

    Opening in theaters in New York and Los Angeles on May 13th is the new documentary ‘Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story,’ from director and producer Frank Marshall, and co-director Ryan Suffern.

    The documentary celebrates 50 years of the legendary New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, which celebrates New Orleans’ unique culture of food and music. Featured in the film are Jimmy Buffett, Bruce Springsteen, Katy Perry, Pitbull, Al Green, Herbie Hancock, Aaron Neville, Earth, Wind & Fire, and many other musicians and celebrities.

    Frank Marshall began his career as a producer on Peter Bogdanovich’s ‘Paper Moon,’ ‘At Long Last Love’ and ‘Nickelodeon,’ before teaming with Steven Spielberg on some of his most famous films including ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark,’ ‘The Color Purple,’ Empire of the Sun,’ and ‘Hook.’

    Marshall would go on to produce such beloved movies as ‘Poltergeist,’ ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit,’ ‘The Sixth Sense,’ ‘Signs,’ ‘Seabiscuit,’ ‘The Bourne Supremacy,’ ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,’ ‘Sully,’ and most recently the ‘Jurassic World’ trilogy, with ‘Jurassic World Dominion’ scheduled for release on June 10th. He is also a producer on the upcoming untitled fifth ‘Indiana Jones’ movie, directed by James Mangold (‘Logan’).

    As a director, Marshall is best known for helming ‘Arachnophobia,’ ‘Alive,’ ‘Congo,’ and ‘Eight Below,’ as well as ‘The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart,’ which marked his directorial debut as a documentary filmmaker.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with director Frank Marshall about his work on ‘Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story.’

    Pitbull, Jimmy Buffet, director Frank Marshall, director Ryan Suffern.
    (L to R) Director Frank Marshall, Jimmy Buffet, Pitbull and director Ryan Suffern. Courtesy of The Kennedy/Marshall Company. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

    Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about how you got involved with this project and why now was the right time to tell the story of New Orleans Jazz Fest?

    Frank Marshall: Well, it was one of those situations where I was in the right place at the right time. I was at an after-concert meeting and I met Quint Davis, who was the co-founder of Jazz Fest. That was back in the summer of 2018. He was talking about the 50th anniversary of Jazz Fest coming up in 2019 and they wanted to do something special like a documentary. I said, “Well, you’re talking the right guy. I love Jazz Fest. I love music and I love documentaries.” So, it all started with a meeting with Quint Davis.

    MF: You filmed at the 2019 Jazz Festival, and it is a huge event with different acts playing on different stages at the same time. How did you decide which artists to film and include in the movie?

    FM: Well, that’s a good question, because again, the key to that was Quint Davis. We obviously knew we couldn’t cover all of the artists that were there, that’s why actually there were two directors, Ryan Suffern and myself, because we really had to divide up what we covered. Quint was very good at being able to give us both the old and the new artists, and the artists that he felt had been representative of what the festival is really all about, which is culture and heritage and the universal language of music.

    As you know, it’s not just jazz. It’s blues, gospel, and rock. It’s all different kinds of music. We had three different camera crews, and we split the three crews up sometimes, or we brought them all together sometimes. So, it had a lot to do with the logistics and the planning was very important.

    Courtesy of The Kennedy/Marshall Company. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.
    2019’s New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Courtesy of The Kennedy/Marshall Company. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

    MF: Can you also talk about looking through the festival’s archive footage and how you decided what you wanted to include in the film?

    FM: Well, there is a foundation, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage festival Foundation, and they are the keepers of the archives. I have to say it’s one of the things I love about making documentaries, is it’s kind of like a little treasure hunt. Every once in a while, you get a gold to bloom, and when we found the 16-millimeter footage of George Wein at the first Jazz Fest with Mahalia Jackson, we knew we just had something that was very special. They kept providing us with all of the photos and the footage from the previous festivals for the past 50 years.

    MF: Can you talk about interviewing festival founders George Wein and Quint Davis and the importance of their work to keep Jazz Fest going after all these years?

    FM: It’s obvious, you really see it in the footage, that they are passionate, not only about the music, but about New Orleans and Louisiana. This is really probably the only place that this could have come together because, I call it a gumbo of music and culture. It really connects to the people that it’s the birthplace of jazz and they want to celebrate that. Being able to talk to the two founders was pretty incredible. They’re still as enthusiastic now as they were back then.

    MF: You ended the section in the film about gospel music with Katy Perry’s performance at 2019’s Jazz Fest. Did you know she was going to sing a gospel song in her performance before you started filming?

    FM: Yes, actually I had a moment to talk to Katy Perry and I did discover that she was sort of brought up on gospel and obviously we knew that she would have this giant gospel choir behind her for her number. So, it’s kind of made sense to include because gospel leads to all different kinds of music. It’s a foundation for all different kinds of music, and that then transitioned into Katy Perry with that wonderful gospel choir behind her.

    Bruce Springsteen at Jazz Fest.
    Bruce Springsteen atNew Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Courtesy of The Kennedy/Marshall Company. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

    MF: You can’t tell the story of New Orleans without telling the story of Hurricane Katrina. Can you talk about that section of the movie, as well as interviewing Bruce Springsteen about his legendary 2006 Jazz Fest performance of ‘My City of Ruins?’

    FM: The Katrina section was just incredible. I was actually down there right after Katrina. We were trying to prep ‘Benjamin Button’ back in those day, so I knew the immense impact that that hurricane had on that city, and as Quint says, “Why rebuild?” He said, “We’re coming back.” What it meant to the people of the city to have Jazz Fest come back is that it brought them back. It’s sort of the perseverance, not only of Jazz Fest, but of the city and Bruce Springsteen’s first visit to Jazz Fest was at that time.

    To have him feel the audience, bring them back and preach to them that it’s all going to be okay. New Orleans was back. It was just one of those special moments where music can bring you hope, which is kind of what I hope the movie does. The first time Jazz Fest was ever canceled was because of the pandemic, so we wanted to bring the world back with both Jazz Fest and this movie.

    MF: Finally, Jazz Fest is not just about music, but it is also about New Orleans food and culture. Can you talk about the importance of food at Jazz Fest and did you eat anything you really loved while you were making this film?

    FM: Well, yes, food is a very important element of Jazz Fest and Quint calls it the world’s greatest backyard barbecue. That’s what it is. You walk around, and you hear great music. There’s a lot of great smells and flavors in the air as well. I have to say that I just love the seafood gumbo. That’s my favorite. I could eat that all day.

    Courtesy of The Kennedy/Marshall Company. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.
    Courtesy of The Kennedy/Marshall Company. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.
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  • Earvin “Magic” Johnson Talks ‘They Call Me Magic’

    Magic Johnson with basketball
    Earvin “Magic” Johnson in “They Call Me Magic,” premiering Friday, April 22 on Apple TV+.

    Premiering on Apple TV+ beginning April 22nd is the new 4-part documentary series ‘They Call Me Magic,’ which chronicles the life and career of NBA Hall of Famer, Earvin “Magic” Johnson.

    Directed by Rick Famuyiwa (‘Dope’), the documentary series follows Johnson’s life both on and off the court, and features candid interviews with his wife Cookie, son EJ, NBA legends Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal, Snoop Dogg, LL Cool J, Samuel L. Jackson, and President Barack Obama.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Earvin “Magic” Johnson about his life, career, and his new Apple TV+ documentary ‘They Call Me Magic.’

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    You can read our full interview with Earvin “Magic’ Johnson below or watch the interview by clicking on the video player above.

    Moviefone: To begin with, having lived it, what is it like for you to watch this four-part documentary about your own life?

    Earvin “Magic” Johnson: I’ve watched it twice now. We premiered it in Austin. Then, of course, having the big premiere just the other day, a couple days ago. So yes, I did watch it. I haven’t watched all four hours, because I wanted my own popcorn, so I could see it when it came out on Apple TV+.

    We could have used probably 20 hours, right? I’m happy about the product and the story, my journey all the way back to Lansing, Michigan, until now. My parents are in it. My brothers and sisters, my beautiful wife, Cookie, my kids, EJ, Andre, Elisa, guys who I played high school with, my friends who I didn’t play basketball with but just hung out with, and a couple U.S. Presidents, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama as well.

    So, when you think about Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Shaq, Dwyane Wade, all these people with different lives, Snoop, they’re all in it, and it makes for great TV. But also, they can share their own experience or what they feel about me or what they feel about some of the things that I’ve been able to do in life. So, it takes you through a journey, ups and downs. It’s going to make you cry, laugh, think, and that’s what I like, that it’s going to touch every emotion in your body.

    Moviefone: Finally, not only were you extremely successful on the basketball court, but you’ve gone on to have an amazing career off-the court as a businessman. Where do you think your incredible work ethic came from?

    EMJ: I think my parents because I’m built like both of them. My father worked two jobs his whole life, so his work ethic was off the chart. I’m just him. My mindset is just like his. I’m disciplined. I’m focused. So, everything that my father is, I am.

    Then I’m like my mother, her charisma, her smile, her wanting to help the world and give back to the world. I got that from her. That’s why I do all the things that I do in the inner cities of America, in the underserved communities, giving back to the Black and Brown community, creating scholarships, and all the things that I do, is because my mother instilled that in me.

    ‘They Call Me Magic’ premieres on Apple TV+ beginning April 22nd.

    Earvin “Magic” Johnson
    Earvin “Magic” Johnson promoting “They Call Me Magic,” which premieres globally April 22, 2022 on Apple TV+.

     

  • Best Beatles Movies

    Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, and George Harrison in Disney+'s 'The Beatles: Get Back'
    (L to R) Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, and George Harrison in Disney+’s ‘The Beatles: Get Back’

    Beatlemania is back!

    Premiering February 11th only in IMAX theaters is ‘The Beatles: Get Back – The Rooftop Concert.’ The movie contains new and old footage from ’The Lord of the Rings’ director Peter Jackson’s three-part Disney+ series, ‘The Beatles: Get Back.’

    The Disney+ documentary series covers the making of the Beatles‘ 1970 album ‘Let It Be,’ and uses new footage originally filmed for Michael Lindsay-Hogg‘s 1970 documentary of the same name. ‘The Rooftop Concert’ centers on footage from the end of the documentary, which highlights Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr in their final concert together as a band.

    But the Beatles are no strangers to appearing in movies, having starred in several feature films, an animated movie, and countless documentaries. There have also been several fictional films made about members of the band, as well as movies that celebrate the music and legacy of the group.

    In honor of the new IMAX concert movie, Moviefone counts down the top ten Beatles movies of all-time! For this list, we are including not only movies starring the Beatles, but also films about the band and their musical influence around the world.

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    Let’s begin!

    10) ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ (1967)

    Released in 1967, the film was written, directed, and starred the Beatles at the height of their psychedelic phase. The movie follows a group of people on a bus tour who begin to experience strange and magical encounters, and was inspired by Ken Kesey’s own bus, Further, and his work with the Merry Pranksters.

    The movie marks the third outing for the band starring in their own narrative film, and while it is probably the least appealing of any of the movies that the Beatles have appeared in, it does feature a performance of “I Am the Walrus’ with the band wearing animal masks.

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    9) ‘The Beatles: Eight Days A Week’ (2016)

    This documentary directed by Oscar-winner Ron Howard focuses on the Beatles’ touring years between 1962 and 1966, from their first gig in Liverpool to their final concert at Candlestick Park in 1966.

    The highlight of the documentary is 30 minutes of unseen footage from the band’s 1965 Shea Stadium concert, which had its sound remastered by Giles Martin, son of Beatles producer George Martin.

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    8) ‘Nowhere Boy’ (2009)

    Filmmaker Sam Taylor-Wood made her directorial debut with this 2009 film about John Lennon’s teenage years, based on a biography written by Lennon’s half-sister Julia Baird.

    The film stars Aaron Johnson as a young Lennon and follows his complicated relationship with his Aunt Mimi (Kristin Scott Thomas) and his mother (Anne-Marie Duff), as well as the creation of his first band, The Quarrymen, which eventually became the Beatles. Johnson gives a quiet and beautiful performance as Lennon, which gained a lot of attention from Hollywood and basically launched his career.

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    7) ‘Let It Be’ (1970)

    This 1970 documentary about the making of the band’s final album ‘Let it Be’ marked the last original film the Beatles would release before breaking up. The movie documents the interpersonal relationships between band members and illuminates some of the turmoil that would eventually lead to their dismantling.

    The highlight of the documentary is an impromptu rooftop performance, which sadly would become the last time the Fab Four ever played in public. Unused footage from the making of this documentary is what Peter Jackson utilized for ‘The Beatles: Get Back.’

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    6) ‘Yesterday’ (2019)

    Yesterday movie
    Working Title Films

    Directed by Oscar winner Danny Boyle (‘Slumdog Millionaire’) and written by Richard Curtis (‘Love Actually’), ‘Yesterday’ is a clever romantic comedy and a love letter to the music of the Beatles.

    The story follows a struggling musician (Himesh Patel) who through a series of events now finds himself the only person on the planet who has ever heard of the Beatles and plagiarizes their music for his own gain. In addition to Patel, the film also stars Lily James, Kate McKinnon, and in a hilarious cameo, Ed Sheeran.

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    5) ‘Across the Universe’ (2007)

    Across the Universe movie
    Revolution Studios

    Directed by Julie Taymor (‘Frida’) and based on an original story by Taymor and screenwriters Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, the film utilizes over thirty songs composed by members of the Beatles.

    The movie also uses characters from Beatles songs like Lucy (‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’), Jude (‘Hey Jude’), Max (“Maxwell’s Silver Hammer’), Sadie (‘Sexy Sadie’), Jo-Jo (‘Get Back’), and Prudence (‘Dear Prudence’). The film features an excellent cast that includes Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess, Logan Marshall-Green, Dylan Baker, Bill Irwin, Eddie Izzard, Salma Hayek, Joe Cocker, and Bono.

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    4) ‘Backbeat’ (1994)

    This 1994 movie directed by Iain Softly, centers on the Beatles original bass guitarist Stu Sutcliffe (Stephen Dorff) and his relationship with Astrid Kirchherr (Sheryl Lee), which led to him leaving the band before they had worldwide success. In addition to Dorff and Lee, the film also features Ian Hart as John Lennon, Gary Bakewell as Paul McCartney, Chris O’Neil as George Harrison, and Scot Williams as Pete Best, the band’s original drummer.

    But the best part of this movie might be the soundtrack, which featured an all-star band performing songs that the Beatles played in their early days. The musicians include David Pirner from Soul Asylum, Greg Dulli from The Afghan Whigs, Thurston Moore from Sonic Youth, Mike Mills from R.E.M., Henry Rollins from Black Flag, and Dave Grohl from Nirvana.

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    3) ‘Help!’ (1965)

    The Beatles second film, ‘Help!’ follows the group as they struggle to record a new album and try to protect Ringo Starr from an evil cult out to steal one of his rings. Directed by Richard Lester (‘Superman II’), the film’s plot is boarder-line ridiculous but does mark the last time the band’s pre-psychedelic years were captured on film.

    The highlight of the movie is that the Beatles were just being themselves and having fun, which is a stark contrast to their disillusioned behavior by the time they made ‘Let it Be.’

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    2) ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ (1964)

    The first of their many movies, ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ follows the band at the height of Beatlemania. What I like about this movie is that it is just a “slice of Beatles life,” and brings the audience behind the scenes to see what it would have been like to be a Beatle.

    They mostly just avoid fans, make TV appearances, and try to manage Paul’s “crazy” grandfather, played by Wilfred Brambell. Directed by Richard Lester, the movie was nominated for two Academy Awards including Best Original Screenplay and ranked 88th on the British Film Institute’s greatest British movies of the 20th century list.

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    1) ‘Yellow Submarine’ (1968)

    Not only is ‘Yellow Submarine’ the best of Beatles movie of all-time, it’s one of the best animated movies of all-time. Directed by Charles Dunning, the film marks the fourth movie released by the Beatles. While the band technically doesn’t appear in the film or even voice their own characters, they do perform the music, which includes ‘Eleanor Rigby,’ ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,’ ‘Nowhere Man,’ ‘All You Need Is Love,’ and of course, ‘Yellow Submarine.’

    The “totally trippy” movie begins in Pepperland, the home of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, where the music-hating Blue Meanies have just attacked. Young Fred (Lance Percival) is tasked with fleeing Pepperland in a Yellow Submarine to find help to battle the Blue Meanies, eventually returning with Paul (Geoffrey Hughes), John (John Clive), George (Peter Batten), and Ringo (Paul Angelis), to save the day. The animated film also acts as a great gateway for parents who want to introduce their kids to the music of the Beatles.

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  • ‘Knock Down the House’ Trailer Shows Underdog Candidates Running for Election

    ‘Knock Down the House’ Trailer Shows Underdog Candidates Running for Election

    Knock Down the House trailer still
    Netflix/YouTube

    Just two months after Netflix reportedly paid a record $10 million for the documentary “Knock Down the House,” the streamer has released the film’s official trailer.

    The inspiring preview shows four underdog candidates campaigning in the primaries for the 2018 midterms, and one of the subjects is none other than freshman Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. She’s featured alongside Amy Vilela, Cori Bush, and Paula Jean Swearengin. The documentary is described as capturing “four women’s unlikely journey to inspire Americans to get fired up about the new faces of politics.”

    The trailer shows glimpses of that, including the women talking about deciding to get involved in politics and some of their struggles after entering the fray.

    “We’re doing something very controversial,” Ocasio-Cortez says in the preview. “People say, ‘How dare you mount a challenge to someone who’s so established?’”

    Watch the trailer below.

    The documentary comes from director Rachel Lears. “Knock Down the House” starts streaming May 1 on Netflix.

  • ‘Leaving Neverland’ Lawsuit: Michael Jackson Estate Claims Documentary Violates Old HBO Contract

    ‘Leaving Neverland’ Lawsuit: Michael Jackson Estate Claims Documentary Violates Old HBO Contract

    Leaving Neverland
    HBO

    The controversy over “Leaving Neverland” continues.

    With HBO planning to air a two-part documentary about abuse allegations against Michael Jackson in March, the Jackson estate has filed a lawsuit against the premium network. The suit maintains that Jackson is innocent and alleges that HBO has breached a non-disparagement clause agreed upon in a 1992 contract, as well as the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, according to The Hollywood Reporter. It also states that the estate will seek damages that “could exceed $100 million,” per Deadline.

    Jackson and HBO’s contract came about after the pop star announced a world tour in 1992, following the release of his studio album “Dangerous.” He had never allowed any of his concerts to be aired or broadcast in their entirety on U.S. television, so it was a major coup when the cabler secured the rights. HBO paid nearly $20 million, according to a New York Times source in August 1992, and the televised concert performance became its highest-rated special ever, as Variety reported in October 1992.

    The clause in question states that “HBO shall not make any disparaging remarks concerning Performer or any of his representatives, agents, or business practices or do any act that may harm or disparage or cause to lower in esteem the reputation or public image of Performer,” according to the suit. Meanwhile, Dan Reed‘s “Leaving Neverland” focuses on two men, Wade Robson and Jimmy Safechuck, who allege that Jackson abused them as children. The suit argues that Jackson is innocent and that the documentary is a “one-sided hit piece.”

    “HBO breached its agreement not to disparage Michael Jackson by producing and selling to the public a one-sided marathon of unvetted propaganda to shamelessly exploit an innocent man no longer here to defend himself,” Jackson estate attorney Howard Weitzman told Deadline.

    HBO has not yet commented on the suit. “Leaving Neverland” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 25 and is scheduled to air on Sunday, March 3 and Monday, March 4.

    [via: THR; Deadline]

  • Netflix Paid Record $10 Million for Election Documentary ‘Knock Down the House’: Report

    Netflix Paid Record $10 Million for Election Documentary ‘Knock Down the House’: Report

    Knock Down the House
    Sundance Film Festival

    The 2019 Sundance Film Festival helped the documentary “Knock Down the House” knock down a record.

    The documentary made a splash at the festival and won the Festival Favorite Award, leading to a bidding war. Netflix ultimately won, per reports last week, and now the sale price has been revealed. It’s note-worthy: The streamer paid $10 million for worldwide rights, according to Deadline‘s Mike Fleming Jr., who says the dollar amount is a record for a film festival documentary sale.

    For comparison, other documentary deals that came out of Sundance included NatGeo’s $3 million purchase of “Sea Shadows,” produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, and Hulu’s $2 million deal for “The Untitled Amazing Johnathan Documentary.” Meanwhile, Fleming reports that the Russian doping-centric documentary “Icarus” is likely the previous record-holder, and it sold for $5 million — half of what “Knock Down the House” did.

    Netflix has a history of prioritizing documentaries. In 2015, Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos told the International Documentary Association that the genre was “distribution challenged” and that the streamer got into it after seeing that “there’s still a hungry audience.”

    “I do think that we’ve been able to make documentary films accessible in a way that has brought real mainstream audiences to documentary films that otherwise couldn’t have happened,” Sarandos added.

    Netflix clearly expects big things from its new purchase. Directed by Rachel Lears, “Knock Down the House” centers on four women — Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Amy Vilela, Cori Bush, and Paula Jean Swearengin — as they ran for office during the November midterm election’s primaries. The documentary “captures these four women’s unlikely journey to inspire Americans to get fired up about the new faces of politics,” according to the description on the Sundance website.

    Netflix has not yet announced a release date for the documentary.

    [via: Deadline]

  • ‘The Case Against Adnan Syed’ Teaser Trailer Promises a Closer Look

    ‘The Case Against Adnan Syed’ Teaser Trailer Promises a Closer Look

    The Case Against Adnan Syed teaser trailer still
    HBO/YouTube

    The first “Serial” case has not been forgotten — in fact, it is the inspiration for a forthcoming four-part documentary series.

    Coming to HBO this spring, “The Case Against Adnan Syed” continues the work the podcast started. It delves into the 1999 killing of Hae Min Lee and Syed’s subsequent murder conviction. A new teaser trailer, released Tuesday, shows that it considers whether Syed was wrongfully convicted and other possible suspects.

    Additionally, the preview hints at new evidence and shows snippets of interviews with people close to the case, including Syed himself. “The closer you look, the more you see,” the trailer says.

    Watch below.

    Syed, who was Lee’s ex-boyfriend, was arrested in 1999 and found guilty of her murder in 2000. He has been going through the appeals process in the years since, and his case caught international attention after “Serial” debuted in October 2014. The podcast has since devoted another season to the case, and it is also the subject of the podcast “Undisclosed,” among other works.

    “The Case Against Adnan Syed,” which is directed by Amy Berg, premieres on HBO this spring.

  • Michael Jackson Docuseries Alleging Sex Abuse to Debut at Sundance, Air on HBO

    Michael Jackson Docuseries Alleging Sex Abuse to Debut at Sundance, Air on HBO

    Leaving Neverland
    Amos Pictures

    A new two-part docuseries exploring sexual abuse allegations against the late Michael Jackson is soon to make its debut.

    Amos Pictures’ “Leaving Neverland” will first premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 25 before later airing on HBO, Deadline reports. The film centers on two adult men and their families who claim Jackson exploited them when the men were children. Both men, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, previously filed sex abuse lawsuits against Jackson or his estate that were ultimately dismissed.

    The documentary has proven controversial already. A rep for the Jackson estate issued a statement calling it “yet another lurid production in an outrageous and pathetic attempt to exploit and cash in on Michael Jackson,” according to Rolling Stone.

    “This so-called ‘documentary’ is just another rehash of dated and discredited allegations,” the statement also reads in part. “It’s baffling why any credible filmmaker would involve himself with this project.”

    “Leaving Neverland” director, producer, and cinematographer Dan Reed, however, spoke out in support of the men and their stories.

    “It took great courage for these two men to tell their stories and I have no question about their validity,” he said in a statement (via Rolling Stone). “I believe anyone who watches this film will see and feel the emotional toll on the men and their families and will appreciate the strength it takes to confront long-held secrets.”

    Viewers will have a chance to decide for themselves how they feel about “Leaving Neverland,” either at Sundance or when it airs on HBO.

    [via: Deadline; Rolling Stone]