Brian Wilson biopic: Love and Mercy

Pardon the interruption: II
Yeah, it showed up online in late January of this year and I grabbed it for my icon, never had an icon for some 1500 posts...kept waiting for the perfect thing and it showed up! Still no explanation as to how it showed up after all these years. I keep waiting for the chance to buy a high quality print, but no luck yet. I had always found it odd that Rubber Soul was the only Beatles LP cover, of which, outtake photos had never surfaced. Technically, I guess that's still the case as this isn't an outtake, just a non-distorted, un-cropped version. Love the picture almost as much as the album, always thought the cover of Rubber Soul looked just like the record sounded.

Okay...back to Brian.
He said Rubber Soul knocked him out, too!

 

It's an amazing photo, but I fear that the odds of getting a high quality print are slim and none. In anticipation of the Anthology series, Apple, led by Neil Aspinall, caused photographers like Robert Freeman, who took the photo, through some pretty strong-arm legal tactics, to sign their rights over. As a result, those prints that Freeman and others did market before that occurred (I bought a few) are now selling for ridiculous prices with the supply dried up. I'd love to get the undistorted Rubber Soul print, as well as the smiling faces With/Meet shot.And color versions.
Of course, someone with access to a negative could always....

 

So is Cusack going to wear a fatsuit for this picture? He already talks out of the side of his mouth . . .

 

Sad to hear that, unfortunate that any artist would be coerced to sign over the rights to their creative art. I hope the photogs were at least fairly compensated. But, since Apple now holds the rights, what would prevent them from releasing quality prints?

 

Yeah, the John Cusack thing is still a bit of a puzzle. It obviously made sense to someone in the know, so I'll hold off until I see it.

 

He's also got a much deeper voice than the real Brian Wilson. But there have certainly been occasions where actors have gained 50-60 pounds for a role.

 

When this biopic was floated a few years back, Jeff Bridges was talked about as the older Brian. I can still see that, but only if older means the last decade or so. One thing for sure it should make for a great story. From my vantage point as a 60's kid and someone who has immersed himself in all this, the things I once found the most tragic within my somewhat narrow range of interest, had been John Lennon's death and Brian Wilson's life. It's so nice that one of these things turned around. If it were only possible to fix the other.

 

I hope this isn't off topic but if anyone lives in SoCal, owns a classic car, and wants to see it in this movie:

We are seeking CLASSIC CARS for an the upcoming BEACH BOYS BIOPIC about BRIAN WILSON called “LOVE AND MERCY” shooting this summer in Los Angeles. NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED. YOU MUST LIVE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.
We are looking for:
CLASSIC CARS IN STOCK COLORS, MADE IN THE YEARS 1950 TO 1965 or 1970 to 1988
Please email a photo of the car, the year, make, model and color of car, a photo of yourself and your contact info to: [email protected] Subject line should read: CLASSIC CARS

In spite of the CAPS this is a legit casting agency.

 

Considering the "Brianista" friendly title, I'm guessing this film will closely follow the same period as Wilson's upcoming autobiography, which it's rumoured will skim over vast (less than glamourous) portions of his life due to current wife Melinda's heavy involvement in having a final say on what is included... I hope that's not the case, though I certainly won't be holding my breath!

 

Well, they can only cover so much in a two hour movie like this. I imagine that they're going to focus on his early rise to glory in the 60's, the fine line between genius and madness with Pet Sounds and Smile and the subsequent decline. They can offer some flash forwards, perhaps with his return to touring in the late 90's, maybe his completion of Smile or the final BB reunion, but I wouldn't expect them to concentrate too much on the more depressing days of the 70's and 80's here.

 

It's the reason "Walk Hard" has been cited so many times on this thread. That movie pointed out all the predictable elements of all the musical bi-ops that have been produced as of late and poked them with a sharp stick 'til they all screamed for mercy. A classic.

The Brian Wilson story is probably going to be part of the background noise of upcoming Paul Thomas Anderson flick, Inherent Vice, based on a Thomas Pynchon title of the same name. The Boards are the parody version of the Beach Boys in that bit of semi hardboiled but mostly half-baked fiction. The Wrecking Crew has its role to play in that novel, as does Charles Manson. Any movie concerning Brian Wilson that fails to recognize these elements—that Phil Spector/Charles Manson bad karma—isn't telling the full story. Bad craziness all around.

 

Does that mean we'll be getting at least something from those periods, but no SMiLE, Smiley Smile, Wild Honey, Friends or 20/20? I'm guessing Pet Sounds and Brian's first solo album will be heavily represented, along with the "Brian's Back" campaign (hopefully represented as it really happened) plus an unbiased view of Dr. Landy... yeah, I know - that's a lot to ask for! Based on those timeframes, we might actually get to witness recreations of the genius at work on such classics* as 15 Big Ones, Love You, Adult/Child and M.I.U. Album.

*For the record, I genuinely do like these records, including large amounts of the unreleased material from that era in circulation. Sweet Insanity and the Paley sessions weren't bad, either.

 

Keep in mind that cars from '65 were still in use in '67. Of course, I'd expect cars to be more prominent during the coverage of the early years, whereas the Pet Sounds/Smile period is more likely to concentrate on Brian at work in the studio. At the same time, I'm not expecting any kind of heavy focus on the music that was made in the 70's. So often with these musical bio-pics, it seems like they focus a lot more on the soap opera than they do on the music itself.

In other news, apparently Paul Giamatti has signed on to play Dr. Gene Landy.

 

Considering how protective Brian's wife can be, the fact Landy is getting mentioned at all seems quite surprising to me... I just hope they don't represent him the same way as Van Dyke Parks in that Beach Boys television movie from a few years back!

 

That's because a lot more moviegoers will go to see "rock star you've forgotten about writes some songs you remember, goes nuts in spectacular fashion and gets better" than "rock star you've forgotten about makes a lot of amazing music, much of it you probably never heard in the first place". Hollywood movies have to play to the masses, not us, unfortunately.

 

That's very interesting casting. Giamatti is one of the best character actors alive today.

 

And a major league actor so Landy must be an important part of the movie.

 

On a side note; I was searching Google for Eugene Landy and found this video.

 

I'm sure this interview will to recreated in the film.

 

Oh, there's some bad body language in that video.

 

You mean Brian unscrewing the bottle?

 

Watch his face as Landry talks.

 

I am glad that they are at least trying to make a good biopic about Brian, anything that turns more people on to him and the Beach Boys is worth wile as far as I am concerned.

I just hope that it is not exploitative of poor Brian.

 

Some Italian lady beard.

 

The movie is looking mighty promising and Paul Dano as the young Brian Wilson is spot on.