Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road (2019 Brent Wilson Documentary)

[Wirestone]

Elton met Brian in 1970, I believe. There’s a rather famous story about it.

[Summer_Days]

Derp, I forgot about that ‘72 ‘Help Me Rhonda’ appearance. My brain is stuffed with so much Beach Boys-related factoids that the little guys in their cubicles up their sometimes misplace things. It’s a mess up there.

[NOLA BB Fan]

I remember seeing Elton John talking about going with Brian to his house - they went to the children’s bedroom and Brian picked up Carnie and Wendy who had been asleep, and said say hello to Elton.
Carnie has also talked about him visiting the house.

(The Elton John reminiscence was in a documentary about them and others doing a tribute album for Leon Russell)

[Rocker]

In the ‘70s, Elton would’ve at least have met Carl since he did the background vocals on ‘Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me’. I wouldn’t be surprised if Elton had met a few others then. Probably not Brian though.

I would imagine he hung out with them here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJta6zMZKMU

Or here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kve4Sp3FxvI

[Wirestone]

Elton also wrote the reissue liner notes for Carl and the Passions.

[guitarfool2002]

Elton met Brian during either his first or one of his first trips to LA to perform. Brian invited Elton back to his house to hang out, talk music, and unless someone can refute this with solid facts, Brian pulled up the tracks to "Good Vibrations" in his house studio and let Elton hear them privately as very few have heard. Brian was a fan of Elton's first album before he got the wide acclaim he would soon receive.

So yes, Sir Elton and Brian met before Elton became a superstar.

[juggler]

Some of you may remember Carnie telling story a couple months ago about EJ putting her to bed while he was over at the house trying to buy BW's piano.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH_uN2-RNSw

In that anecdote, she doesn't give a year.  But from the way she describes it, it sounds like she was pretty young.  She was born in '68.  So maybe '72='74?

[Pretty Funky]

Elton met Brian in 1970, I believe. There’s a rather famous story about it.

Elton confirms first meeting him in 1970.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postrock/2007/12/when_elton_met_brian.html

[Lonely Summer]

Elton John, who has been interviewed for this doco, has tweeted that he's seen the movie.

Thanks for the heads-up.  His twitter blurb links to his Apple Music radio show (episode  #238) where he briefly discusses the documentary... at around 25:00 in, he says:
He saw the film a couple nights ago.
It shows above all else what a musical genius BW is.
BW is very honest in the film. Elton has never seen BW open up like this.
When it comes out, go see it.
He then plays the original recordings of Do It Again & In My Room.
He says that Bruce Springsteen is in the documentary and of course was influenced by the Beach Boys.  He then segues into Bruce's "Hungry Heart" for which he claims BB influence (though in my opinion, it's more the opposite with HH having been so blatantly cribbed for "Getcha Back").

I will be in total shock if Brian really has anything to say in the film. It's gonna be hard to top IJWAMFTT. Don Was did an excellent job of getting Brian to discuss various topics in that film. I was really amazed at some of the stuff he said - like talking about ego and humour.

[Summer_Days]

Elton met Brian in 1970, I believe. There’s a rather famous story about it.

Elton confirms first meeting him in 1970.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postrock/2007/12/when_elton_met_brian.html

Thanks for that link, I had no idea that Elton had a hand in ensuring that Brian would be honored at the Kennedy Center Honors like he was. I’ve watched a number of clips of other entertainers I like getting the Kennedy Center award, such as Bruce Springsteen, Robert DeNiro, Led Zeppelin, Paul McCartney, Carol King and Sean Connery. But only one of them moved me emotionally, to tears actually, and that was when Brian Wilson was honored. Thanks, Elton.

[Emdeeh]

Bumping this -- online film festival starts May 29th. Maybe we'll get to see Long Promised Road after all -- and for free!

YOUTUBE TO HOST FREE VIRTUAL FILM FESTIVAL WITH 20 PARTNERS INCLUDING CANNES, TRIBECA, SUNDANCE

https://variety.com/2020/digital/news/youtube-free-film-festival-cannes-tribeca-sundance-1234590501/

[Don Malcolm]

Very "promising" news, Emdeeh! 

Thanks much--fingers crossed that it makes the lineup!

[juggler]

Whoa, that's great news, and such great PR for YouTube to step in. Really hope that "LPR" is one of the films that's part of this, but it almost seems too good to be true.  I hope that YouTube is making this worthwhile for all parties concerned, because for most film festival participants, the festival really isn't an end in and of itself but rather a showcase for the film in order to find distributors for theatrical release or to sell it to one of the premium cable networks for broadcast or to one of the streaming services like Netflix.  

[HeyJude]

Would be great to get to watch this soon on YouTube.

I would have to guess, even though one of the purposes of these festivals is usually to get a distribution deal for films, that most of the films showing on this YouTube event will already have distribution and in many cases will very quickly head to VOD. I say this because I can't think of an easier way to make sure a film is quickly pirated and all over the internet for file sharing than to stick a film up on YouTube, even on a live stream that isn't reposted after.

I would think this would kind of shift the film festival event to more of a "Upcoming VOD Release Showcase."

This BW doc would be a pretty good use of the current ad-hoc "straight to VOD" thing some films have already done. While studios are skittish about doing this will *huge* films that could still make hundreds of millions at the hypothetical future box office and then later *also* on VOD/streaming, etc., this BW doc was never going to make money at the box office and would have likely seen little beyond a very limited theatrical release.

The BW doc should go straight to VOD for $6.99 rental and $19.99 purchase. Physical release would probably still happen at a later date.

[juggler]

Hope I'm wrong about this, but it looks like we're out of luck as far as getting a youtube stream of Brian's film.  I don't see it on the syllabus...
http://www.weareoneglobalfestival.com/

[juggler]

Well, Tribeca film fest is going to be showing some of its films at a drive-ins and other venues this summer.  No indication yet if Long Promised Road will be part of this, but we should know in a few days.
https://www.tribecafilm.com/news/drive-in


We love the drive in, we love the drive in.

[UEF]

Well, Tribeca film fest is going to be showing some of its films at a drive-ins and other venues this summer.  No indication yet if Long Promised Road will be part of this, but we should know in a few days.
https://www.tribecafilm.com/news/drive-in


We love the drive in, we love the drive in.

Can someone bootleg it with their dash cam?

[Pretty Funky]

Interesting. When you click on the tribeca link now and scroll down it seems there were some screenings back in April. Unaware if these actually went ahead given C19.


https://www.tribecafilm.com/films/brian-wilson-long-promised-road-2020

[juggler]

Interesting. When you click on the tribeca link now and scroll down it seems there were some screenings back in April. Unaware if these actually went ahead given C19.


https://www.tribecafilm.com/films/brian-wilson-long-promised-road-2020

Yeah, those screenings were scheduled for April but there's no way that they actually happened.

[juggler]

Well, the Tribeca drive-in schedule is up.  And with only a couple of exceptions, it's all classic and semi-classic stuff like Jaws and E.T.   Only a couple of new films sprinkled in there.

No sign of LPR or any indication at all what's going to happen with the films that were supposed to debut at the festival.

[Bicyclerider]

Elton met Brian in 1970, I believe. There’s a rather famous story about it.

Elton confirms first meeting him in 1970.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postrock/2007/12/when_elton_met_brian.html

Thanks for that link, I had no idea that Elton had a hand in ensuring that Brian would be honored at the Kennedy Center Honors like he was. I’ve watched a number of clips of other entertainers I like getting the Kennedy Center award, such as Bruce Springsteen, Robert DeNiro, Led Zeppelin, Paul McCartney, Carol King and Sean Connery. But only one of them moved me emotionally, to tears actually, and that was when Brian Wilson was honored. Thanks, Elton.

There are some problems with Eltons recollections of meeting Brian in 1970.  First, he says there was a sand pit inside the house.  The sandbox was long gone by 1970.  And he says the house was purple - hadn’t he been forced to repaint it in 1968? 

[quad73]

So when will this come out?

[Wirestone]

A few weeks ago, Elton John spoke on his Apple Radio show about watching the documentary with his husband and said it was amazing. He called out Jason Fine by name.

He did note that it wasn't out yet but urged everyone to go see it when it was.

[juggler]

The film, like a lot of things, seems to be in Covid-19 limbo.   

In normal times, it would have had its Tribeca debut a few months back, likely followed by a very limited number of theatrical screenings this summer, followed by acquisition by one of the cable or streaming services.   Covid threw a monkey wrench into all that.  When we'll see it? God Only Knows...

[B.E.]

Any news?