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| From | GaryPig@aol.com |
| Subject | Who's Next |
| Date | Sat, 28 May 2005 16:41:27 EDT |
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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The two surviving members of The Who are producing a
documentary about the British rock band's turbulent history, an ongoing
40-year saga of death, drugs and timeless music.
Guitarist/songwriter Pete Townshend and singer/performer Roger Daltrey have
joined forces on the feature-length project with director Murray Lerner, an
Oscar-winning documentary director who first filmed the band during the 1970 Isle
of Wight festival.
Tentatively titled "My Generation: Who's Still Who" -- a reference to their
breakthrough 1965 hit "My Generation" -- the film is scheduled to come out next
year. Lerner said there are plans for a theatrical release, a CD and a
multi-disc DVD set.
"There will be very unusual stuff, hopefully, that never was seen before,"
Lerner told Reuters. "We're looking for material like fights between them, on
and off the stage, unruly fans that make it difficult, weird incidents on the
stage, interviews with ex-wives and girlfriends."
To that end, the filmmakers have set up a Web site,
http://www.thewhomovie.com, seeking material from fans.
The Who previously released a documentary, "The Kids Are Alright," in 1979.
While "Kids" featured vintage and new performance clips, and amusing TV
interviews, the new film will be more ambitious.
"I'm going to try and put you in another world that almost smacks of ...
science fiction," Lerner said. "I'm doing something like an opera. ... I'm going
to play around with stylizing interview voices that change into music and back."
Half of the band will not be able to participate: maniacal drummer Keith Moon
died of a drug overdose in 1978, while taciturn bassist John Entwistle
succumbed to a cocaine-related heart attack in 2002.
The Who formed in the early 1960s, winning attention for their costly habit
of smashing their equipment at each show. When Townshend and Daltrey weren't
pummeling each other and Moon wasn't causing drunken mayhem, the band recorded
hit singles, innovative rock operas, and classic albums like "Live at Leeds"
and "Who's Next."
While the Who have not recorded a studio album in 23 years, they still tour.
Lerner won an Academy Award in 1981 for his documentary "From Mao To Mozart:
Isaac Stern In China," and has just finished a film study of late jazz icon
Miles Davis, "Miles Electric: A Different Kind of Blue."
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