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

[CenturyDeprived]

I agree, costume and set design were award-worthy as well.

"Love & Mercy" was a small miracle; a truly great film above all else. I don't have really any major gripe about the film. I think plenty of elements were awards-worthy, and certainly nomination-worthy. It's not a knock on Brian, but "One Kind of Love" was pretty far down on the list of things that seemed award-worthy, to me anyway.

If Brian wanted an Oscar nom for a song, I think a good model would be to shop something like "Sail Away" (from NPP) to like a Disney animated movie or something.

I have to say I disagree. I think "one kind of love" is definitely amongst the very very best material Brian has ever done in his solo career. Does it compete with the very best stuff he did in his heyday? I wouldn't quite say so. But it's still quite excellent and definitely gives me the feels especially on the chorus and the lyrics about unconditional love are just very meaningful to my ears at least. From a purely emotional standpoint I think it gets my vote for it being award worthy especially when trying to tie something into that movie to get some sort of award connected to it.

That said I suppose OKOL doesn't quite fit into the modern day context of what wins awards perhaps. It's not quite as mesmerizing or filled with hooks or whatever you wanna call it, and didn't really strike a chord with the mass public in the way that they perhaps hoped it would, which if it had perhaps would've led to it winning. But I think it deserves proper accolades and definitely had a place at the table amongst whatever songs it was nominated against that year. IMHO.

That said... from a truly realistic standpoint, just in terms of thinking about what could actually win an award, as opposed to what is maybe most deserving or not, your suggestion of "Sail away" in a Disney flick  might have been a bit more logical. I'm just more thinking about my emotions here with regards to my own personal opinions on the matter.

[Emdeeh]

Good news -- Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road has been awarded Best Music Documentary Feature by the Nashville Film Festival. The film is also slated to open the Key West Film Festival next month.

[Shady]

Wow, this is amazing

[maggie]

I'm probably the only person in the world who thinks this, but in my opinion Love & Mercy should have received awards for costumes and set design. I'm well aware that those sorts of awards typically go to big-budget sci-fi/fantasy/comic-book extravaganzas or period war movies or period dramas based on Victoria-era literature. But darn it, Hollywood is usually really bad at getting "recent period" (30, 40, 50 years ago) right. It's really hard to do, and I'm a stickler for details (e.g., "I remember 1978, and no one had door knobs like that!").  But I'm not sure I've ever seen a film like Love & Mercy where they went to such lengths to recreate the studio scenes and costumes based an obsessive-compulsive level of attention to detail.  Brian himself noted the realism of the studio scenes and how the film had so amazingly got it right.  And let's face it, to an extent, they were even more accurate than the memories of a few of the principals.  For example, I remember when Carol Kaye, God bless her, was griping that she never wore outfits like the actress who portrayed her, there was photographic evidence that those costumes were dead-on reproductions of her actual in-studio outfits circa 1966.

I love, love, love Love & Mercy. I think it's a triumph. Even if I weren't a Beach Boys fan I would cherish it.

However, you have to remember what things like the Oscars exist for. It is to promote the work that is done by the Hollywood studio system. While the "Academy" has increasingly been honoring "independent" films in recent years, the truth is that things like Nomadland, Green Book, and Spotlight only look like independent films -- they were made with studio backing. There is a reason why the director of Nomadland was almost immediately hired to make a Marvel movie. Studios like Searchlight are not "the indie arm" of a major studio, as is sometimes imagined. They are more like the minor league/farm system for the studios.

Love & Mercy was made largely outside that system and even with the director's considerable Hollywood connections and the presence of stars, it took forever for a distributor (Lionsgate, an indie albeit the biggest of the indies) to pick it up, and it was barely released in a time when theatrical release was still king.

There was zero chance of it receiving any significant awards recognition. The only way that would have happened is if either it had been made by a studio, OR if it had been sold before TIFF and released that autumn (2014). TIFF is the beginning of the North American awards season, which runs roughly until Christmas.  The rule of thumb is that anything that plays at TIFF but doesn't receive a general release until the following year is not to be considered successful (although there are exceptions).

[guitarfool2002]

I'm probably the only person in the world who thinks this, but in my opinion Love & Mercy should have received awards for costumes and set design. I'm well aware that those sorts of awards typically go to big-budget sci-fi/fantasy/comic-book extravaganzas or period war movies or period dramas based on Victoria-era literature. But darn it, Hollywood is usually really bad at getting "recent period" (30, 40, 50 years ago) right. It's really hard to do, and I'm a stickler for details (e.g., "I remember 1978, and no one had door knobs like that!").  But I'm not sure I've ever seen a film like Love & Mercy where they went to such lengths to recreate the studio scenes and costumes based an obsessive-compulsive level of attention to detail.  Brian himself noted the realism of the studio scenes and how the film had so amazingly got it right.  And let's face it, to an extent, they were even more accurate than the memories of a few of the principals.  For example, I remember when Carol Kaye, God bless her, was griping that she never wore outfits like the actress who portrayed her, there was photographic evidence that those costumes were dead-on reproductions of her actual in-studio outfits circa 1966.

I agree 100%. And having had the opportunity to speak with people who were involved in making these details come to life on the screen, the sheer amount of care and attention which went into recreating those details accurately would have warranted an award, hands down.

I'm speaking especially to the scenes from 1966, those from Brian's home, inside the recording studios, and even the exteriors. They simply *nailed* it, and in some cases where a full geographic recreation wasn't possible, it was so close and so right-on that it wasn't a distraction at all.

A few examples, from memory (and of course more details can come from those who staged all of this) :

There are numerous prop houses and rental companies who provide period-correct props and items to film and stage companies, imagine a large market with shelves full of antiques and antique home decor that is like a shopping spree fantasy for vintage fanatics (like myself). You go in with a period in mind, and the props are there to choose from. So there are some brief scenes showing a vintage stereo amplifier/receiver in the background. They not only found one which was period-correct, but the detail was so important that they made sure the unit was on, with those beautiful vintage lights on the control panel glowing and providing a unique backlight aura in the scene.

They could have used any old stereo equipment, and just had it there on a shelf. But they wanted to make sure it was not only right, but also a part of the scene even as it sat in the background. THAT is the right way to do it.   

The same kind of detail was employed when things as insignificant as the lamps and other functional furniture was chosen from the vintage prop company. Everything looked right.

And there is where another issue comes up: A famous director once commented about set design and period staging in regards to capturing a previous era. If you're filming a scene in a house from 1966, the furniture and appliances would not be from a 1966 catalog. The realism would come in showing that the house was perhaps built 20 years earlier, the appliances may not be new off the line, and the furniture could be a hodge-podge mix of older family items, a favorite chair from 10 years ago, a TV set that made a previous move with the family, etc. So his point was that a scene inside a house set in 1966 would not have furnishings and design that looked like a magazine spread or catalog staging from 1966. The realism is in showing how real families would have furnished a home.

BUT...in 1966, specific to Love & Mercy, Brian and Marilyn were wealthy and young, and had the money to renovate and newly furnish a home they had recently bought. So a lot of the design and furnishings may have been brand new, bought after consulting a designer perhaps, and most likely more new than the old. So that contradicts what the director's point was about showing realism in vintage set design: Young couples with money and a new house would probably have more brand new items than they would old pieces or hand-me-downs in that home because they could afford to do so and would host parties and gatherings where that stuff mattered. And again, I think the L&M film showed that very well.

One key detail that has been mentioned here before but which might be missed: When the camera action is showing the studio floor during a session, and the musicians are playing, take special note of the audio track. The tracks are bone-dry and heard "live", exactly as they would be if we were sitting in the studio with the musicians. You don't hear tape echo, you don't hear wide reverb, you don't hear a "mix" of the instruments playing as you would on a record...until the scene cuts to the control booth where Brian is monitoring all the sounds going through the board.

Unlike many music-based movies, where they show the studio scenes and it sounds like a fully mixed record playing over it, L&M tried to get exactly what the musicians and others in the actual studio heard during the sessions, relevant even to which part of the studio they were in.

Another minor detail that is major for musicians is if there were a way to zoom in on the sheet music the musicians are reading in the studio, the charts on the stands are the actual songs they're playing. Again a very minor detail no one notices, but that's how much care was put into doing these scenes accurately and respectfully.

The Carole Kaye comments were unfortunate, especially considering what was actually done for and shown in the film and in the backstage pre-production and details to show respect for Carole and to pay tribute to her contributions to the music, and the fact that a working musician rather than a pro actress was hired to play the part, and could and did play the actual bass lines on camera. Again as much as I respect Carole for what she did musically, she got this one wrong, and it was unfortunate.

What was even more unfortunate was having a former poster on this board sending messages to other members here saying how many scenes got it wrong, and what they got wrong, etc and it seemed to be mostly about Melinda Wilson's scenes...and in reality that former poster was the one that was wrong on all of it. But we'll leave it at that.

Just wanted to add some more detail to those details in the film, and there are many more to be highlighted or pointed out. It was an amazing accomplishment, and I agree there should have been awards given. The attention to set design and period detail was stunning, and along with Mad Men is perhaps one of the best uses of period design and obsessive detail I've seen in the past 20 years.

And that's not even mentioning the costumes! 

[juggler]

And there is where another issue comes up: A famous director once commented about set design and period staging in regards to capturing a previous era. If you're filming a scene in a house from 1966, the furniture and appliances would not be from a 1966 catalog. The realism would come in showing that the house was perhaps built 20 years earlier, the appliances may not be new off the line, and the furniture could be a hodge-podge mix of older family items, a favorite chair from 10 years ago, a TV set that made a previous move with the family, etc. So his point was that a scene inside a house set in 1966 would not have furnishings and design that looked like a magazine spread or catalog staging from 1966. The realism is in showing how real families would have furnished a home.

Yes, that's exactly right.  And it's hard work.  You need to go back and look at candid photos and home movies from the period, not Architectural Digest or Hollywood productions of that earlier era as they present a stylized version of the then-current reality.  It's the same thing with vehicles.  If you want to do a street scene of 1966, you don't fill up the scene with 1966 model-year cars.  Maybe one guy on the street has a brand-new car, but other cars will be 5, 10, 20 years old.  And a certain laziness that you see in many period productions doesn't account for that.

But, yeah, "Love & Mercy" absolutely hit it out of the ballpark in this regard.   Think about the scenes of Mike Love wearing gloves while recording vocals.  That is the kind of detail that only people reading this board are likely to notice and say, "Whoa, nicely done. I can't believe that they reproduced that particular detail."    Does it matter?  Some might say, "Who cares?"   But I think it does matter.  Getting the little things right adds to the authenticity and credibility of the film as a whole.   Doing that to an obsessive level of detail, as they did in Love & Mercy, takes it to an entirely different level and speaks very well to the integrity of the filmmakers.

[parlay]

I saw the " Great Brian Wilson' on Saturday night in Atlantic City and must say this was the best I have seen him perform in a long time.  I have previously seen Brian 's  band 68 times but Saturday show  was unreal!   First off the band was very solid as usual- pitch tones and instrumentals terrific- Blondie Al Matt and Darien were great on the individual songs they performed. . In the middle of show Blondie came on stage and performed a 3 song set leading with Feel Flows and dedicating it to Carl- saying (where are you Carl).  He then did Long Promised Road and closed his individual set with Sail on Sailor (masterful!!!)  Al's voice was the same as if he were still in the 70"s especially on Help Me Rhonda.  Matt hit all the high parts perfectly as he sang Don't Worry Baby never missing a beat and Darien was excellent as always singing Darling.

Brian was assisted on and off stage with the assistance of a walker and two aides.  The Band opened the show with California Girls and  Brian's voice was excellent all night long.  Brian seemed very relaxed throughout the show singing and not talking the lyrics. He really was very strong on songs like It Ok, Do it Again, and Please Let Me Wonder and the groups background harmonies on that song were spot on as usual. After each solo song by the other performers, Brian would call out the vocalists saying things like the "great"  Matt Jardine" etc   Of course he brought the entire audience on their feet with God Only Knows and the crowd clapped and yelled for at least 2 minutes.  Band remained onstage prior to the encore for the individual introductions and Brian then closed the show with Love and mercy.  Truly a great show and now we are off to Greensburg and Akron for shows later this week!!!!!

If you get a chance try to see Brian when he comes to your area- if other shows are as good as Saturday I guarantee you will not be disappointed.


 

[MyDrKnowsItKeepsMeCalm]

I saw the " Great Brian Wilson' on Saturday night in Atlantic City and must say this was the best I have seen him perform in a long time.  I have previously seen Brian 's  band 68 times but Saturday show  was unreal!   First off the band was very solid as usual- pitch tones and instrumentals terrific- Blondie Al Matt and Darien were great on the individual songs they performed. . In the middle of show Blondie came on stage and performed a 3 song set leading with Feel Flows and dedicating it to Carl- saying (where are you Carl).  He then did Long Promised Road and closed his individual set with Sail on Sailor (masterful!!!)  Al's voice was the same as if he were still in the 70"s especially on Help Me Rhonda.  Matt hit all the high parts perfectly as he sang Don't Worry Baby never missing a beat and Darien was excellent as always singing Darling.

Brian was assisted on and off stage with the assistance of a walker and two aides.  The Band opened the show with California Girls and  Brian's voice was excellent all night long.  Brian seemed very relaxed throughout the show singing and not talking the lyrics. He really was very strong on songs like It Ok, Do it Again, and Please Let Me Wonder and the groups background harmonies on that song were spot on as usual. After each solo song by the other performers, Brian would call out the vocalists saying things like the "great"  Matt Jardine" etc   Of course he brought the entire audience on their feet with God Only Knows and the crowd clapped and yelled for at least 2 minutes.  Band remained onstage prior to the encore for the individual introductions and Brian then closed the show with Love and mercy.  Truly a great show and now we are off to Greensburg and Akron for shows later this week!!!!!

If you get a chance try to see Brian when he comes to your area- if other shows are as good as Saturday I guarantee you will not be disappointed.
 

Great to hear. Thanks for the review!

[terrei]

Tasteful. I'm glad they didn't rehire the guy who did the unfortunate Feel Flows cover.

[Emdeeh]

New article and film trailer from Rolling Stone:

BRIAN WILSON VISITS BEACH BOYS LANDMARKS AND REFLECTS ON CAREER IN NEW DOC TRAILER
Long Promised Road will feature interviews with Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Nick Jonas, and more

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/brian-wilson-long-promised-road-documentary-trailer-1248160/

The trailer is also on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BqrMWxMnnw

[Rocker]

New article and film trailer from Rolling Stone:

BRIAN WILSON VISITS BEACH BOYS LANDMARKS AND REFLECTS ON CAREER IN NEW DOC TRAILER
Long Promised Road will feature interviews with Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Nick Jonas, and more

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/brian-wilson-long-promised-road-documentary-trailer-1248160/

The trailer is also on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BqrMWxMnnw

NICE!!!
And we can hear some parts of the new song, including a killer Matt Jardine (?) falsetto

[UEF]

Important note at the end of that: special fans screenings 17th November, opening 19th November.

Where are these fans screenings then?

Also noting that it opens the same day as Ghostbusters Afterlife which personally makes me happy

[UEF]

OK here are the screenings you can book, America only https://screenmediafilms.net/film/3370/Brian-Wilson-Long-Promised-Road

[HeyJude]

And here's the "finished" version of that second poster with all of the pertinent text:

[rab2591]

Amazing! Can’t wait to see this.

That song sounds incredible.

[Emdeeh]

Brian Wilson, Brent Wilson, and Jason Fine are doing an in-person Q&A at The Landmark Theatre in Los Angeles on Nov. 17. Details here:
https://www.landmarktheatres.com/los-angeles/the-landmark/film-info/brian-wilson-long-promised-road

[MyDrKnowsItKeepsMeCalm]

The trailer is also on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BqrMWxMnnw

This looks great!

[Shady]

Trailer look great, song sounds great 

[UEF]

Any word of international screenings?

[Pretty Funky]

Several stories from Oct 27 say it will be released in theatres and ‘on demand’ the same day, but no provider mentioned. Will have to wait and see.

[Rocker]

When I see that poster I always am reminded of that screen from Presley's '68 Comeback:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpoaO6yOGHk


Then again it looks like the surfboard from "Surfin' Safari" / "Surfer Girl" only with yellow and blue taken each other's place.

[rab2591]

Several stories from Oct 27 say it will be released in theatres and ‘on demand’ the same day, but no provider mentioned. Will have to wait and see.

And if it’s not available in your country (via streaming service), I think you can use a VPN and switch your connection to a country that does have the stream available.

I hope it’s available for purchase on iTunes…as convenient as streaming is, I’d also like to monetarily support this kind of movie.

[HeyJude]

Several stories from Oct 27 say it will be released in theatres and ‘on demand’ the same day, but no provider mentioned. Will have to wait and see.

In terms of being available "on demand", that should mean it's available on all platforms that allow rentals of individual titles. So that would include Amazon, Apple/iTunes, Vudu, probably Redbox (the streaming component, not the physical kiosks), and others, as well as via individual cable TV providers on their respective "on demand" services.

[HeyJude]

Several stories from Oct 27 say it will be released in theatres and ‘on demand’ the same day, but no provider mentioned. Will have to wait and see.

And if it’s not available in your country (via streaming service), I think you can use a VPN and switch your connection to a country that does have the stream available.

I hope it’s available for purchase on iTunes…as convenient as streaming is, I’d also like to monetarily support this kind of movie.

I don't think the movie is going straight to subscription streaming (e.g. Netflix, HBO Max, Peacock, etc.); it's probably going to be around a $6.99 rental on all digital services that currently sell individual title rentals. I'm guessing it's probably only going to be a rental, not a purchase at first.

They could be going the route of a "Premium VOD" like relatively "major" day-and-date theatrical releases that are immediately available online, but that would mean like a $20 *one-time rental* fee, and I don't think this documentary is a enough of a high profile release to justify that.

[UEF]

I hope it’s available for purchase on iTunes…as convenient as streaming is, I’d also like to monetarily support this kind of movie.

Films that get a deal with a monthly subscription type streamer still get paid, just it'll be a lump sum or perhaps based on views. Or in other words, I don't know if paying per-time like on iTunes or Prime is better or worse for them than being on Netflix or HBO