Calling The Woodstock Generation

This isn’t my project but I’m enlisting aid for our department, which has embarked on a first- ever collabo with The History Channel. Two time Academy Award winning filmmaker Barbara Kopple and Michael Lang are producing a film about the historic 40th anniversary of Woodstock. Kopple should know – her film My Generation profiled boomer and Gen X Woodstock concertgoers.

A key component to this VH1 Rock Doc will be hearing from fans and we’ve put up a site to collect first person stories. If you were at the original Woodstock in ‘69 – or know someone who was (perhaps your parents) – and have any home grown personal footage from the festival, or photos, or stories, the filmmakers would love to see and hear it all. Check out the site or write to them at woodstock@vh1.com. Peace out! (you knew that end line was coming.)

A Kink in Reunion Plans

The doc field has a whole budding subculture of Michael Moore wanna-bes. If only it were so easy! Making a documentary staring yourself does reduce time-consuming issues like finding a host or a narrator, developing a cinematic style, etc. Just aim the camera on yourself and start riffing! But of course, few people are as funny as Moore.

Maybe Geoff Edgers will be. The seemingly affable Boston Globe arts critic put up a trailer called Do It Again about his quest to reunite the Kinks. (Even though Ray has wanted to do a reunion, estranged brother Dave doesn’t agree. He said, “It would be like a poor remake of ‘Night of the Living Dead.”) But as Edgers points out in the trailer, there have been tons of films about the Beach Boys, Stones and Beatles but very few about the Kinks. Edgers wants to make amends. Per his trailer, at least he’s gathering legions of Kinks fans like Sting, Paul Weller, and Robyn Hitchcock to support the cause. (Edgers even jams with Sting.) I’ll be looking for another web update to see if Edgers gets anywhere closer to his quest.

More Sundance Raves: Lil Wayne

In my earlier Sundance coverage, I only cited the music docs that were in the main competition. But I didn’t mention one entry in the Park City to Midnight program and that’s the one getting the most attention. Adam Bhala Lough, who previously directed a doc called The Upsetter: The Life and Music of Lee Scratch Perry debuted Lil Wayne’s biographical documentary The Carter. Some early reports said it was best thing to happen at Sundance. Suffice it to say, it wouldn’t be the lead movie in any “War on Drugs” film festival. I’ll post again after I see the full cut.

Walk a Weird Line

Belated Happy New Year! I’m back on the blog after a short vacation. Lots of post and some new sites to hail, all in the coming days. (And note the new format: clips on top.)

Here is today’s latest thanks to the Hollywood Reporter. Actor Casey Affleck will produce a doc about the upcoming musical career of actor Joaquin Phoenix. It seemed like a publicity stunt at the time, but last spring, the Walk the Line star said he was quitting movies and beginning a music career (see the announcement in the clip.) But its not country music – its rapping. And Diddy will produce. Phoenix’s debut is tonight in Vegas, which is also call time for the first shoot. I’m not even sure what I can add here but given Phoenix’s surly and strange personality (he once told our VH1 News department that he was possessed by frogs), I am curious to see the film (but not curious at all to see him rap…yeesh.)