The Smiley Smile Message Board

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2385832/Paul-Dano-leads-Good-Vibrations-cast-assemble-film-Beach-Boys-biopic-Love--Mercy.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Looks like a great cast - especially that pendleton shirt shots.

Paul Dano looks too short to be Brian Wilson though.

Paul Dano looks okay to me and whoever plays carl looks okay too. I'm psyched!

Wow, thanks! I gotta say: looking good. I'm suprised.

This really makes Dano look like Brian:

(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/08/07/article-2385832-1B2E88F8000005DC-377_634x1028.jpg)



Carl and Al look kind of authentic as well (although Al is way to tall, obviously):

(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/08/07/article-2385832-1B2E7EA0000005DC-176_634x437.jpg)

Looks PERFECT. Considering what Hollywood could've done with this movie, it looks like whoever ended up in control really knows his stuff!! Can't wait for this film!

(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/08/07/article-2385832-1B2E7EA0000005DC-176_634x437.jpg)


OK, so who's supposed to be who here. Obviously Brian, second from left

Al, Brian, Carl, Dennis, Mike & Marilyn (?). Pretty obvious, I'd say. :)













P.S. Could a mod merge this thread with THIS ONE (http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,16077.0.html)? :)

Oooh, get her!  :lol

Shouldn't that be David instead of Al?

Is there a picture of Al in a Pendleton shirt?

According to previous media reports (and casting announcements) as well as IMDB David Marks is not part of the story. :P That far left guy could also be Marks, from the looks of it. But I guess it's the actor playing Al.

I'm breathing a sigh of relief, those pictures could've been a lot worse.

Also in the very first pic of the article. Dano's got the Brian walk down pretty well

Biopics always seem to creep me out.

(http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m92mzuD3WH1qbabvao3_500.gif)

Bahhhr Paul Dano looks PERFECT.

(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/08/07/article-2385832-1B2E880C000005DC-472_634x450.jpg)

I CAN'T WAIT OMG

Yap, he looks great as Brian. :-D


That same old Marks/Jardine history-rewriting for the sake of convenience of story-telling is beginning to bug me immensely, though . .  :P

wow, he looks exactly like Brian.

Right down to the pants not really fitting right around the crotch and thigh area  :lol

Look at the bit near the bottom of the article. They show the famous Surfin' Safari-era photo and say this:
"The jolly pop pioneers where in their element as they took part in this fun 1970 photoshoot."
Quality journalism!

Not 100% sure about Mike though.  :lol

Totally!!!!

Don't you think filmmakers would see the dramatic potential they could wring from including Dave???

Oh don't worry about that, I won't be offended :P

I'll go ahead and fess up to being wrong about who's who in the above photo. Don't judge too harshly.  :-[

It is the Brian Wilson story being told here so I think the finer details of the band make up will be ignored IMO.

Agree. Although I hate not including Marks, and I'm passionate about historic details, the writers have to focus the primary storyline, which is Brian. Adding Marks will likely be confusing.

I'm pretty impressed with Dano so far. He really seems to have grabbed onto Brian's physical mannerisms and gestures. I'll be interested in seeing the more emotional side of his portrayal.

I'm wondering how the end credits will roll as these movies always have an update on the artist in question.

       IN SEPTEMBER 2012 BRIAN WAS FIRED FROM THE BEACH BOYS AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE BANDS 50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION.

They can get WETA studios to fix that in post-production, ala The Hobbit - and perhaps whip up a CGI Dr Landy while they're at it.

In all probability Al won't be seen again after the 1966 scenes! ;D

If they're shooting for the Oscars, I'd expect a Winter 2014 wide release.   8)

They should've cast Al as Bilbo!!!!

It's less WETA in post-production but rather very practical stuff like camera angles on set and the use of stand-ins of various heights. :)

And maybe they're simply going with a taller Al... :P

TALL JARDINE!

More pictures here.

http://www.justjaredjr.com/2013/08/07/brett-davern-jake-abel-love-mercy-beach-boys/

I think the problem is just a time element.  There is sooooo much to cover.  They're going to completely move over this early period, and spend about 5 minutes on it.  5 minutes into the film you're going to be hearing California Girls, they're going to get to the juicy stuff... so with only a few minutes devoted to the early career adding David in would confuse everybody. 

Melinda and Landy:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2386630/Elizabeth-Banks-travels-time-Eighties-frock-hairdo-set-Beach-Boys-biopic.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/08/08/article-2386630-1B31D9F3000005DC-267_634x817.jpg)

I knew we'd get quality wigs.

wow so this movie is actually getting made

It looks as though they're going to have Melinda be some kind of sexy babe. I realize Melinda is a former model and won some kind of beauty contest when she was young, but she never struck me as the sexy type.

You're probably not old enough.  I'm under the impression that she was babalicious back 'n the day.  Hard to find old pictures of her, but she was looking pretty fit at the wedding.  Notice the caption of Melinda saying Brian will always love Marilyn

(http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mbl2vnFH3w1r2x60ro1_500.jpg)

Oh god.... It's summer dreams all over again!!! :-D

I get more annoyed that 1968 Brian is made out to be 1975 Brian in almost every doc. Going to happen again no doubt.

The above pic reminds me of Summer Dreams as well.

Mike, I'm absolutely with you with regards to 1968/1975 Brian. It's a strange phenomenon when even people who praise records such as Friends and Sunflower tend to comment (often in the very same breath) that the group's former leader had pretty much retired by that point. I mean, even his voice is virtually all over those two records...

I've heard Al and Bruce both make comments that are odd about Brian not being around, but then you pin them down and they say for instance that Friends and Sunflower have Brian in a good period(s). I've heard them say Brian stopped singing high in 1969 which is very untrue. Odd stuff and tiring as well. Brian does not get a fair shake for five of the coolest years of his music career (1967-72) and other than what was to come, and an excuse for declining sales, it is hard to see why. Yes Brian gradually pulled back during that period, but to make it anything other than gradual robs the story of its human element and actually dilutes the story.

I like the look of Giamatti as Landy. And Banks looks good, too. Both are great actors, as well. Everything's gonna be cool. I'm getting really good vibes here.

Phew, I was worried about Giamatti at first but all is well. Some excellent costume and make-up jobs going on in this movie! I never thought I'd come to thanking the Daily Mail but I feel I must...

Aye, you'd hope that, after all the record-setting-straight that's been done by Jon and others in recent years, a contemporary product like this would use the best-available data and get the story right from the off.

I mean, who do they think that guy with the shades and axe is at this summer's BW gigs?




Jeff who? Is he the guy who stood in for Brian on lead guitar while Brian spent a decade in bed smoking birthday cake between 1964 and 1988?

Maybe they will have a disclaimer at the beginning of the movie about merging characters for the story's sake and introduce the composite Al/David character as Zeppo Wilson.

:lol :lol :lol

Since David Marks is now very much a part of Brian's current story, why shouldn't he be included? When I first discovered the Beach Boys, David was a member of the band. To me, he's as much a part of their story as Alan.

What caught my attention 1st after seeing these shots is how a cast for Mike doesn't look like Mike at all. Same is "Dennis". Even the boy casted as Al reminds a bit original, especially when he hangs down his head so we can't see his face. Paul is a good choice but, as rab2591 said, he's way too short for Brian. And lastly, "Carl" is almost perfect. Similar eyes & (less) chubbiness circa 1967. As for older actors, I'm glad to see Giamatti with hair, he kind of looks stylish in that hip wig. Banks doesn't resemble Melinda; she looks funny dressed like the 80s queen. The article says fair words about the decade's fashion - it's really terrifyingly bad. All in all, despite everything, I have high hopes that it's going to be a very enjoyable film. I still think The Beach Boys are 1.000 times superior to these boys but judging by the photos, observing that each of the actors tries to imitate their mannerisms, gestures, gait, face expressions etc., I'm quite sure I'll like the final result. Can't wait for downloading & watching it!

Recent tweet from VDP, presumably about Love and Mercy:

@thevandykeparks: Bio-pics penned by screenwriters who weren't there so can't remember in cahoots with those who were who'd rather not. This is the bat cave!

https://twitter.com/thevandykeparks/status/365931086833926144

Should we sign a petition in order for the producers to include Blondie and Ricky?

I can't wait for Van Dyke's angry interview when this movie is released. This time he'll go after Brian the same way he went after Mike for "American Family," since it's Brian's people in charge this time. He'll spill the beans on Brian with some nasty stories about past transgressions. Maybe Brian stiffed him on sharing cab fare or made him pay the check at Denny's some time back in the '70s.

This is a Brian bio. Not the Beach Boys. They will be lucky to get more than a name check and the lawyers will be thorough in ensuring there is no come back from the group and their estates, VDP and the estate of Landy.

From the original press release.

"Rather than a bio pic, the film will take an unconventional look at seminal moments in Wilson's life, his artistic genius, his profound struggles, and the love that kept him alive,"...



Brian has been pretty open about his drug taking, mental and physical health, Murry and his other issues. THAT and his redemption is the movie.

So, in other words, a hagiography, with "hottie" Melinda as heroine.

You got it!

And at the end of the movie the other good guys. Refer to the BAD tour personal list! :lol

The bat cave? ???

Maybe it's because I'm not a native speaker but I don't understand what he means by that image.

Roughly the same as by "over and over the crow cries uncover the corn fields".

Obviously he's referring to the Batman episode where Batman and Robin (Brian and Van Dyke) "inhale" the Penguins mind gas and lose their memories.

I don't get at all what VDP is trying to say.. :lol

Whatever the case, he doesn't seem to be entirely positive about it...  :(

I ran this through Google translates Van Dyke to English translator.

Van-dykelish: Bio-pics penned by screenwriters who weren't there so can't remember in cahoots with those who were who'd rather not. This is the bat cave!

English: These guys don't know anything and Brian's in denial. It's gonna be bat crap.

Link please? :lol :lol :lol

Maybe VDP is hinting that Adam West and Burt Ward will make a cameo? Who else would be up for seeing the Batdance square off against the chicken dance?

Van Dyke could be referring to the Batman movie series and other blockbusters, thinking that the people making the film are going to create a ridiculous fantasy out of Brian's life in order to sell as many tickets as possible.  I have a hard time believing that anyone would expect a Brian biopic to strive to sell millions of tickets. Though he could be right that a theatrical film will be more juiced up than a TV movie.

Some punctuation suggestions:
Bio-pics penned by "screenwriters who weren't there so can't remember" in cahoots with "those who were who'd rather not." This is the bat cave!


Bat cave: dark home for the flying blind? secret hideout of the dynamic duo of camp?

American Family 2: Electric Boogaloo Discovers America

He uses 2 words. Batmans 'Batcave' is one.

Found this. Is it relevant. A clue. Who knows?

http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2010/09/a-chat-with-van-dyke-parks.html

For a long time, I wondered about something in his "Discover America" album package, and two years ago, I finally got the nerve to email him:

"Ever since the mid-1970s, I've puzzled over the "Space Available" section
 of the liner notes from your "Discover America" album. You may recall how
 intense some of us fans' interpretations of album ephemera would get under
 various influences.

Well, when I re-visited it in the 1990s, my amazement grew.

Do you realize what's written is also a description of how packet
 switching happens in computer networks, a set of protocols which is the
 basis for the Internet?

And then there's the "computer font" of "Space Available," which adds to
 the wonderment.

So I'll answer the question posed: Yes, there's somebody out here. ..."

his reply:

"I just reviewed the print you cite--
I wrote that article. I chose the type
 face. I meant every word of it.
 In fact, I still hold to its emphases.
 I expected the critical abbatoire, but
 was determined to hold my own--
 if they took everything but my last squeal. I used that precious space
 to say something that I felt needed saying.
 Raw competition doesn't always produce the finest results, and in
 some matters, is totally nihilistic.
 The bat caves I visited in Trinidad
 inspired the focus.

As for your (somewhat belated)
 remarks, I'm amazed that you remember this passage, and it
 makes me feel validated in my
 effort---so gratified that this positive
 brings the yield to more than zero!"

Elizabeth Banks as Melinda:

(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/08/08/article-2386630-1B31D21A000005DC-239_634x830.jpg)

(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/08/08/article-2386630-1B31D9EF000005DC-469_634x959.jpg)

entire article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2386630/Elizabeth-Banks-travels-time-Eighties-frock-hairdo-set-Beach-Boys-biopic.html?ito=feeds-newsxml (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2386630/Elizabeth-Banks-travels-time-Eighties-frock-hairdo-set-Beach-Boys-biopic.html?ito=feeds-newsxml)

Oh my God, Van Dyke Parks is The Riddler... He really IS!!!

I mean, who is to know "American Gothic trip" refers to a painting and "Bicycle Rider" to a gambling cards brand?

I'm thinking he is talking about bat guano or sh!t. :lol

I love Van Dyke Parks but his Twitter feed is giving me a headache.

(http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z353/SupremeKingDan/denal_zps366fc453.png)

Some more:


BRIAN & THE BOYS

(http://oi44.tinypic.com/2q9j95t.jpg)
(http://oi40.tinypic.com/2vjvjv8.jpg)
(http://oi44.tinypic.com/2h2quiw.jpg)
(http://oi42.tinypic.com/15yutt3.jpg)
(http://oi42.tinypic.com/dwcpjs.jpg)



(T)AL(L) JARDINE

(http://oi39.tinypic.com/2u55q89.jpg)
(http://oi44.tinypic.com/1ooq42.jpg)
(http://oi44.tinypic.com/2hqro75.jpg)

(http://cdn01.cdn.justjaredjr.com/wp-content/uploads/pictures/2013/08/brett-jake/brett-davern-jake-abel-graham-rogers-beach-boys-filming-19.jpg)

(http://cdn04.cdn.justjaredjr.com/wp-content/uploads/pictures/2013/08/brett-jake/brett-davern-jake-abel-graham-rogers-beach-boys-filming-12.jpg)

(http://cdn01.cdn.justjaredjr.com/wp-content/uploads/pictures/2013/08/brett-jake/brett-davern-jake-abel-graham-rogers-beach-boys-filming-18.jpg)

He is Brian!  :)

(http://oi42.tinypic.com/2rhtt0x.jpg)

I wonder if we'll get any pictures of Cusack soon...

Incidentally, here's something Cusack posted on his Twitter recently:

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BRSM6vKCQAEIjG6.jpg)

"Listen to this glorious music like a waking dream"

:rock



(http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m7823zK4Cg1qlfauho1_500.png)

Judging how it looks, seems Cusack has the SMiLE Sessions box set. Neat!

"Bio-pics penned by screenwriters who weren't there so can't remember ..."

"... in cahoots with those who were who'd rather not." BW himself?

"This is the bat cave!" Comparing this new movie to the silliness of the '60s Batman TV show and/or "we're all in the dark".

Columnated ruins domino.

Is this right? Confirmed?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0903657/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast

Some dude called Mark Linett cast as Chuck Britz? They don't even look alike!


;D

True to form, the Daily Mail are wrong about absolutely everything! Always. No matter what the topic.

I'm not so keen on beach kind of photos in general, but these actors look very friendly, I won't be surprised if they end up good old pals after finishing the movie. I enjoy seeing when people who just recently never knew each other become close friends eventually. And it's very rare thing between actors (starring in one film).

Re Mr. Cusack & Smile: he has good taste in music if he so quickly got the out-of-mind music of The BBs. Going by logic, the uninitiated digest the sun&surf numbers first, only then - the more serious work of the group, if at all give it a listen/chance.

Hey,  I already cracked that joke on page 2! ::)

Is he playing that 45 without an adapter? Probably sounds pretty far out, man.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1489227/

This guy as Present Day Brian?

Interesting.

He looks more like the 1970s Brian from that pic of him with a beard. I fail to see how John Cusack is gonna pull off the "older" Brian better than this guy would.

Remember, the info on this biopic indicated that it would not take a linear story telling approach. "Present Day Brian" may very well be 70's or 80's Brian, depending on the start point for the story.

From the cast and pictures released so far, I have to wonder and ask, is this bio-pic of Brian's life a comedy or a lite romance?  Not that that would be a bad thing. I can see, if done the right way, that a script with a wry sense of humor could  be a key element in an honest/entertaining adaptation of Brian's life.

Hey, that doesn't look much like Brian to me. I mean anyone can make their hair look like that. Lop off the hair and it's some guy who looks nothing like Brian.

I WANT TO FIGHT ABOUT IT

IMDB is not a good source of info and I doubt most of that casting is accurate.

(http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BNDE0MTc3OTgyOV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwODQ5ODQwNw@@._V1._SX290_SY435_.jpg)

Striking resemblance! :-D



To be fair, today's brian doesn't look anything like the SMiLE era Brian, even if you photoshop his hair like that.

The bulk of it is accurate considering the photos and tweets we've been getting. Though I'm not sure about this Holman guy...

Yes, it's started filming, so I'd have to think IMdB is accurate in this case. It's beyond pre-production, and while fans can submit information, IMDb will vet the info at this point, and the producers are going to keep an eye on their page and make sure it's accurate.

http://www.thesuperficial.com/photos/the-crap-we-missed-tuesday-8-20-13/the-crap-we-missed-0820-20-2

Caption on the right.

YAYZ

So Mark's really landed the role of Chuck Britz?  :o

Joe Thomas should play Steve Levine

Cusack is pictured in the link I posted. Just in case anyone missed it.

Cusack looks nothing like Brian. More importantly, he looks even less like Paul Dano. I also can't buy Elizabeth Banks as Melinda. I know there are people who insist Melinda was prettier when she was younger, but I don't think she was ever that skinny or made the effort to be the sexy type. She was a used car dealer. If she thought of herself as sexy, I think she would have tried for a sexier job. The real Melinda just doesn't have that type of vibe.

ME-OOOOOOW. What a nasty thing to say about somebody's wife when they were younger and more attractive.

So what are the better options, then?

Also, go into a car dealership in Southern California. Especially the ones Brian would be at. Tell me they don't hire attractive women. Also, good luck convincing Hollywood to cast a homelier breed of blonde.

I think people are a little too hung up on how little these actors look like the people they're portraying.  For all I care, it can be Denzel Washington playing Brian...it doesn't matter.  It's about the story and the events that these characters go through in the film that define them.   The actors are nothing more than a vague representation of the person they're portraying.  I'm not going to enjoy this film any more if they cloned Brian Wilson to play himself in the movie.  In the end, it's his journey that is the focus not whether the actor playing Brian has his double chin.

It's ridiculous to expect otherwise from a biopic! What kind of weird standard would that be? "Let's cast a celebrity lookalike rather than a good actor" would lead to incredibly bad movies.

All during The Last Emperor I couldn't help but think that guy looked NOTHING like Pu Yi. I want my money back!

(http://i3.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article880469.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/Henry%20Hill%20and%20Ray%20Liotta%20at%20the%20Matteo%27s%20Italian%20Restaurant-880469)

"Goodfellas was ok and all, but man -- your nose is all wrong."

She was a model before she sold cars. Models don't tend to be average-looking.

Cusack is going to rock this. Mark my words. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkK0j3pT6l0

First (unofficial) glimpse of an L&M scene. I would never have guessed the actors were supposed to be portraying Brian and Melinda if I hadn't known about the upcoming film.

To be fair, the movements are perfect. He may not look just like Brian, but to me it's more about the portrayal and not the looks.

EDIT: Watched again, from the side, it looks just like Brian from the period.

Teresa Cowles (awesome bass player from Adam Marsland's Chaos band) is playing Carol Kaye...

HOLY CRAP HOLY CRAP HOLY CRAP

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BSO8_DeCYAAl73K.jpg:large)

I don't know why people think I was calling Melinda Wilson ugly, because I wasn't. I just was saying she's not a woman who pushes her "sexy" side. Women come in different types. There are women who have good looks who become Playboy models and TV actresses and play up their sexiness, and there are other good-looking women who become things such as TV journalists, or real estate and car salespersons. Melinda is more of the latter type. Even when she was a model, she was a store model showing off expensive designer dresses in Beverly Hills boutiques (tasteful, and a sort of sales job), not a Victoria's Secret catalog model or car show model.

If I were to choose an actress who would have made a good Melinda Wilson, but the actress isn't old enough yet, it would be Jennifer Lawrence. She radiates self-confidence and competence. Melinda is a strong, practical, no-nonsense type of woman, I think that's what I was driving at.  That's not exactly an insult.  

What is his twitter account?

I'm telling ya, Brian's colored his hair! Now, have it done a little more consistently, take care of that neck, and he'll look ten years younger! ;D

He's gotta go back to the pop Beethoven look:

(http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Archive/Search/2011/8/22/1314006564226/Brian-Wilson-007.jpg)

The hair coloring does not suit him at all.  He should stick to all naturale!

(https://sphotos-b-lax.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/q77/s720x720/557666_10151803183847241_1016356597_n.jpg)

Justin you just beat me to it! 

This was posted on Brian's Facebook today.  Giamatti looks like he's dressed in character, so is it safe to assume that Cusak is too and they are filming at Oceanway?  I'm very surprised that Cusak-as-Brian isn't using more makeup to make him look at least a little like Brian??

Well, I didn't think what you wrote was offensive.

Who's that guy playing Al in this picture? He looks pretty real! ;D

Agreed (for the most part): I'd rather have a quality actor than a lackluster doppelganger.  However, I do hope that there will be some editing done (lighting, color correction, etc.) that makes Cusack look a bit more like Brian.

It occurred to me looking at these pics that Cusak doesn't look like Brian but he does look like an older Paul Dano.

So there's that.

I'd feel super awkward if I were Paul Giamatti...portraying this person who you know had such a negative and complicated impact on Brian's life, right in the same room as Brian.

maybe awkward....... but he was the only one who did get through to Brian........ and saved his life perhaps......

what's that worth?

RickB

Why that? On the contrary, it's a big honor for Giamatti to play the villain because most of the time it's not the easiest role that takes a lot of effort & acting skills to convince the audience in their negativity, make people hate them etc. That's the reason many actors receive the Oscar for playing namely antagonists. I myself find them the most interesting characters in films.

2KittyKat: I checked up that Jennifer Lawrence actress & didn't see any similarities with Melinda. Or maybe I missed sth. & there are actually several actresses with such name? Since it happens sometimes?

It is an honor, and I don't mean that Giamatti would feel awkward in general, just that first moment meeting Brian in character.  I mean, if I met somebody dressed up as a person from my past that I had a complicated, emotional relationship with, it would be a little..."Oh, Hi."

I get it now, thanks for clarifying your post! Somehow I took it in the wrong direction.

ahh me too!

Sorry mate, I misunderstood your wording also........ darn emails/texts etc etc........

so easily to misinterpret.....

RickB

Tweets from John Cusack on Brian:

John Cusack ‏@johncusack 16h
So I'm working - listening to smile sessions --trying to call in a great spirit a visitor drops by set - wow pic.twitter.com/IXoN6frwpr

John Cusack ‏@johncusack 16h
That's the your mind is blown apart look;).whoke set rocked with goodness RT @Sadiesniece: Brian!!!!! I love the look on your face John!

John Cusack ‏@johncusack
The Mozart of rock and roll RT @BrigetteSeppa: @johncusack Must be a bit surreal to meet someone you're portraying in film, let alone a legend of music.

John Cusack ‏@johncusack 14h
Your dad's a legend - honor is mine - and nerve wracked thinking about you seeing it !! RT @CarnieWilson: @johncusack wow hon- you are on a cool journey with this one! We should talk for sure! #honored

John Cusack ‏@johncusack 14h
Words fail - RT @msmhairic: @johncusack you really are lucky today, must be inspiring to meet a legend like Brian pic.twitter.com/IXoN6frwpr”

John Cusack ‏@johncusack 27m
“I was there !! @BrianWilsonLive: Brian with @JohnCusack, Paul Giamatti and @AlanJardine at Oceanway. pic.twitter.com/90VjJNHphw"

John Cusack ‏@johncusack 27m
John as Brian with the real Brian aka the Mozart of rock and roll “Brian with @JohnCusack at Oceanway. pic.twitter.com/AMpcJEMl5d”

John Cusack ‏@johncusack 20m
This is the work of a genuis. Listen to the soul medicine magic - truly you'll tweet me happy tweets -.http://www.examiner.com/slideshow/the-smile-session-box-set-wins-a-grammy-for-best-historical-album#slide=1 …

I wonder if in a decade or so everything on the internet will read like the above post taken from the twitter.

I also wonder if Mozart would hate rock & roll were he here today to have a word with his rock & roll counterpart.

Listen 2 tha soul medicine magik, bruh.

He'd listen, amazed, and give Brian faint praise
But he'd find modern music quite shite.
Then he'd claim he felt ill, and he'd move to Brazil
Where they shoot the dance DJ's on sight.

FWIW. I'm pretty sure that youtube clip on the previous page was filmed at the Griffith Park observatory in LA.

Al and Brian seem joined at the hip lately. I love it.

Gushy, cheesy article with lots of pics of Cusack and Banks on set:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2400709/John-Cusack-Elizabeth-Banks-great-time-set-Beach-Boys-biopic.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Note Cusack's expression in the first pic....

They sure are giving a lot of access to the press during the shoot. I'm not sure that's a good sign or a bad one. It might be better to have an element of surprise. It looks like Cusack is wearing a rug, even if it's a receding rug. 

the language of the future.

it's sort of like overhearing a bunch of conversations at once at the mall, recorded on a handheld cassette, and then transcribed by a robot.

Some people are just bound and determined not to like anything.

And that first shot, John Cusack looks like he is in character.

I think that's what Emdeeh was getting at . .  ;)

Exactly what I was getting at! Cusack's got the facial expression nailed.

Also this recently from Banks' Twitter...
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BSKNVULCQAA9JPp.jpg)
Just thought I'd put that up...

Lovin' those photos from the shoot! I was doubtful about Cusack but he has Brian's face pretty much nailed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkK0j3pT6l0

Awesome!
With all this cool stuff happening, it sure is an amazing time to be a fan!

http://www.thesuperficial.com/photos/the-crap-we-missed-friday-8-23-13/the-crap-we-missed-0823-17-2/full-size

This is not the most gracious thing to say, i realize, but Elizabeth Banks seems to be playing Melinda too cheerful. Although i suppose this could be the more private side of her.

gawd John Cusack has brown eyes and Brian has blue eyes. That's gonna be really distracting, especially because the actor playing younger Brian has blue eyes.

That's something I would never have noticed.
But, now that you've said something, I can't help but notice.

Kinda corny how they did the song titles in the pictures, but seeing "Hang On to Your Ego" was a trip.

Elizabeth Banks is beyond hot. It doesn't matter how sexy Melinda is or isn't supposed to be, Elizabeth Banks is going to be sexy and she can't stop it.

Melinda again described as a model. Maybe when the movie comes out with associated press we may finally learn what her career was. :o

What a really horrendous picture this is! "Brian" & "Melinda" look like 2 urban vampires. I know that real Melinda has kind of sly face, very determined but Brian is childlike & innocent even now, in his 70s. I very hope Mr. Cusack made that grimace for fun & during actual filming he'll be more serious & try to accurately capture Brian's mannerisms, character, gestures & other little things.

Thinking about how Melinda looks now might be enough to calm the beast...

Nicko1234, do you want to explain the phrase "to calm the beast" & how it relates to real Melinda? I googled it with no clear results.

To still his quickening heart.

Yes, that's a better way of putting it.

Love and Mercy wrapped shooting today according to Brian's twitter.

The picture they posted is concerning. Melinda looks really sickly.

I think the pic is just unflattering. She's standing directly under a light, so it's hard to even see what she actually looks like, if that makes sense.

It's up on his Facebook page, as well.

I don't get how Melinda looks "sickly" here, though. ??? She looks great (and happy).


(http://oi41.tinypic.com/33xdh0j.jpg)

She's a woman in her sixties, she looks normal and pretty good to me.  :shrug

That's not a good photo for any of them.

I'll go with the lighting angle description also, because to me she appears gaunt/anemic. her smile doesn't erase the negative poking thru

She appears to have lost weight, possibly too much. It's not a good pic, but she doesn't look her usual self. There may be a perfectly innocent explanation, but were I family, I'd be concerned.

VDP tweets (again) about Love and Mercy:

https://twitter.com/thevandykeparks/statuses/372734954373128192 (https://twitter.com/thevandykeparks/statuses/372734954373128192)
https://twitter.com/thevandykeparks/statuses/372735583472218112 (https://twitter.com/thevandykeparks/statuses/372735583472218112)

I'm not a hundred percent certain what he's on about but from the looks of things he's still not happy. :(

I kind of don't think it's her.

I believe he's Uncut claiming that Harry Nilsson is the only genius he's met...

TL: I don't know nor care what The Beach Boys are doing. Can't you see I'm busy promoting my own album so that it doesn't become outshined like the other ones?

He says somewhere else that BW is not a genius, but a man blessed with talent.

I love Van Dyke but he has become a bitter old man.

I can't blame him. he's about to endure another couple of years of screenwriting and mythology becoming confused with "facts" that will confront him at each and every public appearance! The guy doesn't want to be pinned down when he's got an indie label to push and lots of other projects...

It's not like he hasn't been burned before by biopics...

Already wrapped?  That was fast.

Yeah I know...I was wondering when production started?

It's kind of a smaller production and I bet they shot most of it back-to-back (different sets of cast for different time periods). Why shouldn't they finish principal photography after a month?

Melinda from a month ago ... Looks relatively similar.

(https://sphotos-a-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/1013545_10151748029697241_1509080744_n.png)

Nah. He's just sticking up for himself against the BW machine. Remember, it's laudable when Mike does it.

This pic is new, right? - http://instagram.com/p/djzZEVNCs7/#

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2404077/John-Cusack-enjoys-surprise-performance-Brian-Wilson-filming-ends-Beach-Boys-biopic.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

COOL!! :3d


Also:

(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/08/28/article-0-1B7DC36A000005DC-702_634x928.jpg)

Regarding this photo, this was posted by actor Jim Laspesa on FB:

"Word is getting out, the film has wrapped, and I think it's OK now to finally talk about my amazing recent experience. A few months back I was cast as one of the "Wrecking Crew" in "Love And Mercy," the upcoming motion picture about Brian Wilson's life. I am the Wrecking Crew percussionist in the film, and several other musicians cast as "The Crew" are friends and musical colleagues of mine, including Rob Laufer, Gary Griffin, Willie Aron, Chris Reccardi, Todd Jaeger and Teresa Cowles as Carol Kaye. All of these studio scenes were shot inside the still functioning Western Recording Studios on Sunset (now called Eastwest), where "Pet Sounds" and so many other Beach Boys classics were originally recorded. Amazingly, this very historic room is fully intact; untouched and pretty much exactly as it was in 1966.

We filmed our sequences over 4 days last month. Then last week, I got word that the directors wanted us "Wrecking Crew" guys featured in the film to be the entertainment/band at the "wrap party" as all the proper filming is now officially over. At first it was supposed to be an informal jam session, but then Paul Dano and John Cusack, who portray young and older Brian in the film, wanted to sing a song each with us; THEN Brian Wilson himself got wind of this, got excited, and decided he wanted to perform a full hour+ concert at the party for the cast and crew who worked so hard on the film. THEN it was decided the band would be Brian Wilson, along with most of his regular touring band, and 5 members of the "Wrecking Crew" from the film, including Gary Griffin, Chris Reccardi, Todd Jaeger, Teresa Cowles, and yours truly on drums. So, last night, for the first time, I did something I've dreamed of my whole life - I performed an entire set on drums with Brian Wilson along with his amazing band. To say that it was a moving, life-defining experience for me is an understatement."


(https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/p280x280/1175045_10201965735847642_1136325669_n.jpg)
(http://distilleryimage7.ak.instagram.com/1eeb5a080fea11e390a322000a9f1438_7.jpg)
(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/08/28/article-0-1B7ED488000005DC-561_634x480.jpg)

Ooh dear, I hope that microphone on the timpani isn't a movie prop...  And I don't like the idea of a Fire session being filmed in Western 1, assuming that's what's going on.  Oh well?

The first picture in the daily mail looks like Melinda talking to the 2 Brian actors. She looks , shall we say, healthy.

SM-57?

Is the target audience for the movie really going to notice or care? Lets cut them some slack.

Cusack is too ugly to be Brian..... Brian is a handsome dude and was at his most handsome during the second Landy period... Not a big deal, but when they make bios of good looking people, the casting IN THE LEAST usually reflects that..... Like i said, not a big deal really, but still.... Dennis got Bruce Greenwood, ya know??

Brian singing with Cusack and Dano.  Pretty cool.  Where was this?
https://twitter.com/johncusack/status/372804158161555457
https://twitter.com/johncusack/status/372851735301062657

(http://distilleryimage7.ak.instagram.com/1eeb5a080fea11e390a322000a9f1438_7.jpg)

Figueroa Hotel LA

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2404077/John-Cusack-enjoys-surprise-performance-Brian-Wilson-filming-ends-Beach-Boys-biopic.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Any idea what happened to Dano? He's on crutches.

He broke his ankle trying to walk awkwardly.

Well, this cast member at least looks the part!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3520615/?ref_=rvi_nm

Oh wow, those eyes, it's uncanny!

This movie is going to be a joke! The actress who is playing Audree Wilson was born in 1963. The actor who is playing her son was born in 1966.... ::)

looks like it could be an EV 676

You realize it's set in two different time periods, right?

has this been mentioned/posted here? 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2404077/John-Cusack-enjoys-surprise-performance-Brian-Wilson-filming-ends-Beach-Boys-biopic.html

She'll look great all done up like early 60's Marylin!

not to be 'johnny raincloud' here............ but I have a bad feeling about this flicka.....

im glad Brian and Co are overseeing it, but cant see it being much better than 'summer dreams' or 'American family'.....

im interested to know how or what the soundtrack may be.....??...... any more on that?


RickB

and by coincidence, the guy playing Dennis in 'love and mercy', is also in another movie this year called 'god only knows'....

 :o

RickB

In any case, very doubtful they'd put that on Timp at Western or Gold Star.

But I guess you never know.

No slack shall be cut. 

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE....... don't let Dave Grohl/Foo Fighters anywhere near the soundtrack to this movie!!!!!!!!

Why would the Foo Fighters be involved?

And I'm not a Foo Fighters fan but Taylor Hawkins helped finish "Holy Man" which I think should at least give him some Beach Boy cred.  But really the soundtrack should consist completely of Beach Boys/Brian Wilson songs.

Well, that's one reason: Hawkins already has an in. But that was him by himself.

I'm hoping Grohl/Foo Fighters aren't involved because he/they seem to be the go to fol for anything rock n roll history related by small-minded industry idiots who are too lazy to think of anyone more suited.

Looks like Foskett's handwriting on that box ...

Too bad Foskett isn't playing present day Brian!!!!

Re-shoots anyone???  >:D

I'm not sure if anyone has pointed this out yet but the writer for this movie - Oren Moverman - also wrote for the Bob Dylan film I'm Not There. You know, the one where Cate Blanchett and all the others played Dylan at different stages of his life, even the little black boy. Also, the director of the film was the executive producer of The Tree of Life, a beautifully shot film with a roundabout way of telling a story. Also, music by Atticus Ross and the cinematography is by the man who worked on The Royal Tenanbaums and Moonrise Kingdom both films have a very distinct style to them.
 
So I think seeing a few paparazzi photos of the cast milling about on set is not enough to really have any judgement of how the film is going to be. Look at the cast and crew who brought this one to life - really some talented and creative people, not just some vh1 lifetime movie of the week people. I'm sure I'm not alone on this one.

That's the best news I've heard so far about the film - I'm quite interested in seeing it with all that pedigree in the background. Very cool.

Even so, talented writers, producers and directors can still combine to deliver a terrible movie. I'm guessing the degree of external interference will be a major factor.

I'll wait until I see it but, given past history in this arena and other factors, I'm not doing backflips down the hallway in anticipation.

I've heard there is a dream sequence in it, where a bearded man who looks suspiciously like you Andrew, warns 1966 Brian that Carol Kaye is not all she seems.

Dammit. Rumbled.

Oddly, the person who plays CK is a Facebook friend of mine - Teresa Cowles, from Adam Marsland's Chaos Band (and before that, Dragster Barbie).  Fine musician and a truly nice person. ;D

There's a certain irony there.

 ;D

Is that a dig at Carole Kaye? Seriously, was she not a nice person and a good musician?

Respectively, no, and yes. Outstanding musician, who deserves all the acclaim she gets - for the music she performed. Snag is, she's taken to claiming she was on a lot of hits - notably "Surfin' USA", a slew of Motown singles and "Light My Fire" - that she demonstrably didn't play on.

Respectively, no, and yes. Outstanding musician, who deserves all the acclaim she gets - for the music she performed. Snag is, she's taken to claiming she was on a lot of hits - notably "Surfin' USA", a slew of Motown singles and "Light My Fire" - that she demonstrably didn't play on.
[/quote]

Gotcha. Thanks for the clarification. I have tended to elevate Carol Kaye and Hal Blaine probably a little bit too much in my mind.

I think a movie needs to be made of Hal Blaine. The guy is 84 now and still sharp-as-a-tack and he played on 6 consecutive Grammy Record of the Years for 6 different artists.

Hal Blaine Strikes Again indeed!

[/quote]

 he played on 6 consecutive Grammy Record of the Years for 6 different artists.

Hal Blaine Strikes Again indeed!
[/quote]

Oops...6 Record of the Year winners for FOUR different artists, my bad (Simon & Garfunkel and The 5th Dimension twice)

I won't use such a rough word for describing Cusack but I definitely see your point: Brian is indeed a better-looking human (though I disagree with your 2nd sentiment, I think Brian was at his most handsome in the 60s-early 70s, mostly during the Pet Sounds sessions with that cool hairstyle).

Re "icy" Melinda: in that posted photo she looks pale, I agree. But the thing is, Melinda normally has a white skin, so it's no wonder why she ends up pale in all the pictures. Add to that the wrong angle & position & you've got even much paler version of an already white lady.

In general, I think Melinda looks kind of cool in the mentioned photo, like an extraterrestrial due to her big sun glasses & unusual shape of her face.

The picture of 3 Brians (1 real & 2 artificial) is cool too! It seems our Brian taught the actors how to harmonize in certain songs. Well done!

I wonder if there has been any question about whether the movie producers will be able to use Beach Boy recordings. Will Mike Love threaten a lawsuit? Or has he given the thumbs-up to the project?

Good question. I can't see Mike suing anyone over the music. Surely a major film is good for all their careers.

Now if he felt he was misrepresented, that's a different matter........

Personally I hope he doesn't sue anyone over this movie. I don't think I could put up with another 37 Mike Love threads.

Mike isn't the only BB who's ever laid a lawsuit, you know.

David Lynch needs to direct the Mike bio-pic!

TAINTED BLOOD
a film by David Lynch

Strange... what apple juice does.

  :lol

I can just see the scene where Mike's brother and a couple thugs go and kidnap a famished and crazed Mike from the levitation class  (complete with pads on the floor to break their falls) at the TM retreat!!!!

(http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5339/9622302635_a5dd2869fb_m.jpg)

You'll believe a Mike Love can fly.

Coming Soon.

The movie's tag line would be

"He is Mike Love, eager for fun, fun, fun.  He wears a baseball cap, everybody run."

Most controversial scene will involve, a trailer, Mike, an oxygen mask, a groupie hiding in the closet, ....... and Bruce.

Don't forget about Bruce ranting about  heineken beer. ;D

They have the rights to use the original tracks.

Here's an outtake from the "backstage at SeaWorld" scene

(http://s18.postimg.org/em3srq2d1/tumblr_mhg431_Rpc_H1qgu2gyo3_r1_500.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/em3srq2d1/)

This movie needs to happen, ML is the perfect subject for DL to analyze. Hell, David knows him from those TM events.

No, but for some strange reason his name came to mind.

David Lynch no doubt loves Mike Love due to their mutual involvement in TM.  They're on the same wavelength, and David has been instrumental in making TM more popular than ever among the celebrity crowd. David believes in yogic flying and even more. So, he'd be the one doing the Mike Love hagiography, where Mike and Paul McCartney co-write "Back in the USSR" with the Maharishi in the room, and the Beach Boys TM tour was a huge success.

Hey, that tour wasn't a bad idea. And we need to remember, the band had timing and historical circumstance against them from the start. The live stuff from that period is fantastic, as is the Friends album. Yeah, the tour was a disaster but it wasn't necessarily the fault of the idea itself.

Just don't ask david lynch about dune.... ;)

David Lynch himself should play Bruce ;)

Imagine David Lynch at a Beach Boys show and Bruce trying to get the crowd to clap and sing along to this.  ;D
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=caWXt9lCVrc&feature=fvwrel

After seeing that video, I'm starting to suspect that Ontor = David Lynch!  :hat

Who's that cute bass player in the back?

It's not Bob Lizik, that's for sure! :-D

Second from left is supposed to be Al, right?

No, I think it's one of Brian's little sons. Dylan or whatever his name.

You do know I love you, don't you?

That guy looks at least 6 inches taller than Al!

Frodo wasn't actually 3 feet tall in LOTR??

2Mr. Newcombe: If what you've said is some hip British slang meaning "I agree with you", then fine. But if it's vice versa="I strongly disagree with you" - well, I wasn't sure anyway when I said that it's one of Brian's children. Maybe it's not. But the point is it can't be Al, no way.

2Letsgoawayforawhile & the other Al mockers: can you, please, stop paying attention to Al's height, commenting on it etc.? Show some respect, he deserves it! After all, height & other appearance details have nothing to do with music at all. Though I'm sure you all know about that.

You weren't serious, surely

God, I hope not.

How's that? Look around, like every 3rd topic has posters teasing Al for his height & even calling him "elf" & such. Sorry, folks, I find it distasteful.

If you're referring to my 1st sentence, I honestly don't know the meaning of that slang in Mr. Newcombe's post. Knowing that English is a very tricky language, one can hardly say for sure what this or that phrase means. So I was just going by logic.

She is serious and don't call her Shirley.

I don't think she should be berated for a shaky memory.  She's played bass on a ridiculous amount of recordings, it's easy to lose track of what recordings those may be.  I'm sure she's a nice person, just not a particularly reliable one for accurate information.

You just don't get it

What don't I get?  She was a session musician, that was her job.  She played on hundreds, maybe thousands of songs.  It wasn't her job to remember exactly which songs those were.  So she knows she played for the Beach Boys, she played on more than a handful of their songs, she might not remember the specifics though so if someone brings up a Beach Boys song, she might say, "yeah, I played on that."  It's just the way memory works sometimes.  I don't think it has to do with her as a person.

Nope, you just don't get it

No, I meant it literally, in the platonic sense, in as much as one can love another on a message board.

I think it's just par for the course to have one's memory get tripped up after so many sessions/so many decades. I mean, is every Ford assembly line retiree supposed to remember each and every car they worked on? But no one ever asks them.

Doesn't Hal Blaine think he played on pretty much every Byrds record etc etc?

There's a difference between not remembering and claiming certain knowledge. There's also a difference between not remembering and publicly blasting people who are questioning your faulty memory.

I thought I'd annotate this conversation for my own clarification, and maybe RangeRover's.


Stephen makes a joke about Al's height.


Your response, which seems serious, but probably isn't.


Stephen expresses amusement.


Letsgoawayforawhile joins in on the Al joke.


Ah. Maybe you were serious....


Or, what bgas said.


You're right. Al gets a hard time because he's short.

Fairly certain that the kid in the picture is Dylan. One of Brian's sons. Why would that be a joke? I don't get it.

Shirley you jest!

That....... is a good point.

When did she publicly blast someone for questioning her?

Carol has been online since the late 90s, and got progressively more outspoken as the years passed. Her claims also became more sweeping and specific. She started making claims (particularly about playing on Motown tracks) that are just demonstrably false. Go to her website and read some of the ramblings there. She has special contempt for people who were "not there," and those she claims are spreading lies.

It's really rather sad. She used to post on multiple boards and was clearly happy to hear from fans. But at a certain point, when questions started being raised, she literally could never admit that she might have been wrong (that the Motown songs she played on might have been for quickie covers records or demos, for example). She just doubled down and eventually retreated to her members-only forum.

Oh okay, I didn't know that, that's interesting.

Some excerpts from her website:




I don't want to get into the ins and outs of what may or may not be true here, but I think it's safe to say that Carol holds her share of grudges. AGD has been on the receiving end of some of this too ...

Basically, none of that is true, especially the bit about Slutsky taking all the royalties for himself.

Although, to be fair, there's a lot of Hartman's book that is either questionable or flat out inaccurate.

Amongst others, me on the original Bloo in 2000 or so. Briefly, someone asked her what Ray Pohlman played on "GOK" and she replied that he wasn't on the session. I, and a few others, pointed out that not only was he listed on the AFM contract but he can also clearly be heard being referred to by name, at which point she pitched a fit, said she was there and we weren't and accused me of stealing AFM sheets (I was given photocopies by an associate of the band), further stating that she'd get her pal Russ Wapensky to confirm it from his researches. I politely (yeah, I know...) pointed out that, as he'd be quoting from the exact same AFM as me (and gave the number) there wasn't much point. That's when she flounced off to her own forum and started badmouthing everyone who dared to question her recollections. She's been online since the late 90s but doesn't really understand how the 'net works, as evidenced by her threatening to sue Google for selling pirated copies of her CDs and books. Seriously.

It's a huge shame: she's an outstanding musician who deserves all the acclaim she rightly gets... but she's also a very vindictive and unpleasant individual when confronted with evidence that she couldn't have played on, say, all the Motown hits she claims, or such Beach Boys titles as "Surfin' USA" and "I Was Made To Love Her". If you sign up for her forum, don't mention either my name or Slutsky's, or you'll be permanently barred.

Yikes, that is pretty rough.  And using Internet slang like IMO and btw, you'd think she were a whiny teenager.  I do have some sympathy for her as being a session musician was clearly a thankless job in her time, not to mention that she was a woman in the music industry which was a male dominated business.  Seems to me she's just trying to hold her own and at her age (she'll be 80 in two years), she wants to make sure she'll be remembered (which she surely will be) and when people doubt her claims (which as false as they may be I think she at least believes), she's afraid it will hurt her legacy.  
Regardless of what she says, the people who are interested in this sort of information will always get the truth in the end so I think it's just best not to include her in those conversations and humor her if she says something wrong.  It's not worth trying to change her mind.

I think it's sad that she no longer gets along with Hal Blaine. Hal said in his book that he wished he could have married Carol and would have been a lot happier with a woman he has so much in common with. Of course, that was written years ago.

For someone who claims to find English so tricky, you have a remarkably good grasp of it  ;D in a technical/theoretical sense...never a misspelt word or poorly constructed sentence!

Again, who is that cute bass player in the back?

True but she spoke to AGD in a similar way to how he has spoken to most other people.

And I know people who've met her who've said how nice she was.

Teresa Cowles, who plays Carol Kaye in the movie.

Please read the rest of the posts and the events cited. More people than AGD have serious problems with Carol because of her hyper-inflated claims.

Thank you! (I gotta get this movie on DVD next year... ;D)

I may not be Mr. Tact & Diplomacy on occasion, but I have never, ever claimed that someone else's work was mine. Nor have I libelled anyone on the 'net. Here's something not many folk know: in 2000 she tried to bring a lawsuit to prove she played bass on a slew of MoTown hits. In pre-trial, the judge read her 'evidence', told her she didn't have a leg to stand on and threw the suit out.

Would Carol have received performance royalties or residuals if she would have won such a lawsuit?  Or do only official members of bands get performing royalties from records? I've always been confused by that.  Other than prestige, I'm not sure what studio musicians get from claiming to have performed on records. But if there are money claims involved, maybe it's more complicated than that.

Session players receive the union rate for a session: that's the purpose of the AFM Contracts - not for the elucidation of later researchers, but to ensure the studio musicians got paid correctly.

Here's a bit of California Girls being played at the wrap party...
http://instagram.com/p/diytvXCF4n/# (http://instagram.com/p/diytvXCF4n/#)

Although it hasn’t been screened yet, I’m also very excited about Love & Mercy.  What was it like making that project?
 
DANO: Yeah, we did that this summer, and it’s some of the most fun I’ve ever had.  He’s a really special man, Brian Wilson, and, not just the ‘60s and the music, but his spirit is really special and strong.  And, I just fell in love with him and what he did.  If you listen to Pet Sounds, there’s really nothing like it before or since, and it was just a joy filling up on that, and learning to play the piano.  I got to work with these amazing musicians and, it was just a joy.  I don’t know if I should say that since it’s a ways off but, I think he’s got a really great story.  He’s a special guy.  I hope that we do him justice.
 
One of the reasons I’m so excited about the project, besides your involvement in it, is the screenplay by Oren [Moverman].  I loved Rampart and The Messenger.  He’s just a great screenwriter, and I’m curious what he brought to the table in terms of this script.
 
DANO: Well Oren is my friend now, and he’s a great guy.  He’s a wonderful writer like you said.  I don’t wanna give away what he wrote, but I will say that, I think that he tried to capture Brian’s spirit as well as tell a story.  I don’t think it’s a totally traditional biopic.  I think it’s gonna be a fun and accessible film, and I think it’s hopefully going to be interesting, like the man that it’s depicting.  I think he did an amazing job cracking this story, and I can’t imagine anyone else having done it, aside from him.  I know they tried to make movies about Brian for a long time, and I think music stories are tough to tell in an interesting way.  The fact that Bill [Polad] got Oren to write it is really also a smart choice on his behalf. 
 
I know you don’t wanna talk more about it, but I have one more question on this particular film.  I’m curious if you’ve heard that Atticus Ross was designing the film’s soundscape.  I’m curious to know if you’ve heard any of the score of what he’s done?
 
DANO: I haven’t yet.  I got to hang out with Atticus a little bit.  He seemed super excited, and I think they’re approaching that stuff in a really cool way.  I’m hoping to hear some of it soon actually, but we just finished at the end of August and I’m still detoxing, and trying to steer clear for a little bit. Then, I’ll be excited to see what they’re cooking up.

http://collider.com/paul-dano-12-years-a-slave-prisoners-interview/

Nice find!

At one point she was looking into legal action that she hoped would result in royalty payments to session musicians for their work on TV themes, movie soundtracks, and hit records.  She felt this was warranted because these players sometimes contributed licks or other ideas that constituted creative input.  Kinda all makes sense now, doesn't it?

Paul Dano playing Bryan Wilsun?? Cool! But i heard (can't remember if someone told me or if i read it on the internet) that the only good thing he ever did was Pet Sounds. How can you make an entire movie about one album??!

Who's playing Marilyn and Diane?

Anyone else notice the mislabelled photo of the original BB for the Surfin' Safari photoshoot  - 1970?  Who does the paper's research?

I think Elizabeth Banks is hot and am excited to see her as Melinda.  Hopefully there will be some nudity in the film!

um

Well, if IMDb is correct, Marilyn will be played by Erin Darke and Diane will be played by Gretchen Duerksen. :)

You're probably joking but in case you aren't, I can't imagine how nudity would be incorporated in a film about Brian Wilson without it being gratuitous, I wouldn't bet on it.  :lol

From Brian's Facebook:

http://www.brianwilson.com/news/2013/11/1/paul-dano-talks-about-love-mercy (http://www.brianwilson.com/news/2013/11/1/paul-dano-talks-about-love-mercy)

"Well Oren is my friend now, and he’s a great guy. He’s a wonderful writer like you said. I don’t wanna give away what he wrote, but I will say that, I think that he tried to capture Brian’s spirit as well as tell a story. I don’t think it’s a totally traditional biopic. I think it’s gonna be a fun and accessible film, and I think it’s hopefully going to be interesting, like the man that it’s depicting. I think he did an amazing job cracking this story, and I can’t imagine anyone else having done it, aside from him. I know they tried to make movies about Brian for a long time, and I think music stories are tough to tell in an interesting way. The fact that Bill [Polad] got Oren to write it is really also a smart choice on his behalf."

http://theblot.com/paul-giamatti-talks-hair-and-movies-776723
Interview done last month w/ Paul Giamatti.

On Love & Mercy: It's a tough story to tell, I mean the whole thing. It's mostly about Brian Wilson's nervous breakdown. It falls into two halves with two different actors. First it's Paul Dano, and John Cusack is the older one. I play Dr. Landy, the crazy psychotherapist. It's a great character. Brian Wilson had a severe freakout and his family got in touch with a psychotherapist out in L.A. named Eugene Landy who took over. That's where most of the story comes from, because the doctor was basically insane. He made Brian play in a sandbox, I mean crazy stuff.

… runs to reference books to check the chronology…


Well they could show Dennis having his way with a girl in the studio during the All I Want To Do sessions, or Dennis having his way with any of the other Beach Boys' wives… or they could compromise and just show BW taking a dump with the loo door open, as portrayed in (I think) the Brian Wilson Project narratives.

But I hope they're better than that…

I think anyone on this board will have major issues with the liberties taken with the truth and the facts as we know them when we see Love & Mercy. What I am hoping is that a non-linear presentation of the story will add to the story that we think we all know well. I have faith in Oren Moverman, the screenwriter for Love & Mercy and the screenwriter for I'm Not There, which really was a great celebration of all things Bob Dylan.

Basically I'll take I'm Not There for Brian Wilson--that would also mean other artists reinterpreting his music rather than Brian rarities on a soundtrack. I'd take that tradeoff.

Would you? Would you take a mediocre film with a killer soundtrack, or a great film with a mediocre soundtrack?

The latter.

Isn't there a third actor who plays "fat Brian"? Or was that some misinformation put out along the way?

I never knew Dr. Landy had Brian do sandbox therapy. Maybe I haven't read "Wouldn't It Be Nice: My Story" in a long time, or Brian didn't include it, or they took the sandbox out of 1967 and updated it. Or maybe it's supposed to be Brian's ''70s SNL appearance, where he played a piano in a sandbox?

 Will there be any new or unreleased songs in the film ?

I just want to remind everyone that it is a biopic - not a documentary. I'm sure liberties will be taken in the script and events will not be completely chronologically accurate. I'm excited for the movie !

I, too, am excited to see an artistic rendering of the life and times of BW….we have enough docs out there on him and the Boys. I am ready for dramatic license and I am not incensed by the lack of knowledge of some of the film's leads in the actual history of BW. This movie is art…you want science grab a biography or rent a documentary

I think the playing in the sandbox bit was referring to BW playing GV on SNL in a sandbox. At least I hope. Hate to see him on film building sand castles...

I just want it to be good, in all respects, to be even-handed and not too historically inaccurate. I'll settle for "not embarrassing".

New interview with Paul Dano where he speaks a little about the movie:

There isn't, it seems, much room for levity when you take what you do this seriously. I'm glad for his sake, then, that his next film is a little sunnier. He'll play the Beach Boy Brian Wilson in the forthcoming biopic Love & Mercy, a character Dano calls "a little more goofy and childlike" and a shoot he summarises as "probably some of the most fun I've ever had". He went straight from filming Prisoners to this, and considers such a change of character "one weird payoff" in that "by dipping into the darkness it made it easier to go towards the light afterwards". Any biopic of Wilson will not be without its darker moments, however, and such characters do seem to have more of a claim over Dano than the light ones.

I thought Dano was one of the best things about '12 Years A Slave' and in 'There Will Be Blood' he gives a great performance. I'm very interested to see his portrayal of Brian Wilson; much moreso than Cusack's.

Imagine it's the next "walk the line", that would be mind blowing.

Totally, or the next 'Ray'
Also something to note if it hasn't been said already, on the imdb casting section it shows a person playing Brian Wilson 'present'. Will be interesting to see how they incorporate that, possibly as last few moments of the film?

Agree in full, Chris. For two reasons:

1. IMHO we know so much factual history by now. Even if the 'autobiography' by Todd Gold, with minimal co-operation from Brian, wasn't at all what it purported to be (but because of Landy's clear influence, it's an unmissable curio, for the fans), there is the Ames Carlin book, Timothy White's (for a wider perspective), David Leaf's work, Jon Stebbins, Paul Williams' book, and the countless articles in many magazines and papers. We can quite well put the puzzle together, and there are TV documentaries, of course, the efforts by Don Was, Malcolm Leo, the 'Beautiful Dreamer' film. And much more.

2. The life story of Brian lends itself to various forms of serious 're-interpretation', you may also read: 're-creation' here - but only in the hands of capable people, artists themselves, who know and feel what they are dealing with. There aren't that many musicians around of whom one can say that. Bob Dylan certainly belongs to this select company (as has been proven with 'I'm Not There'). Brian makes for a intriguing, wonderful subject in this respect. Perhaps Alex Chilton, Syd Barrett, John Fahey could be candidates too (a few guesses by yours truly, you have your own proposals, of course). But these would have a smaller target audience.

In brief: I can't wait to see the finished product.

I thought this was kind of adorable:

(http://oi61.tinypic.com/2vm8pvk.jpg)


 :)

I recently re-watched my favorite TV-series "Spellbinder" (2 seasons) & it caught my notice that some of the actors could easily be playing the roles of the BBs. Especially this guy (Ryan Kwanten) looks very like Brian:
(http://i59.tinypic.com/33k63w6.jpg)(http://i61.tinypic.com/wqwm53.jpg)

Candidates for Mike, Polish & Australian; judge who better suits:
(http://i57.tinypic.com/2s8jjet.png)(http://i57.tinypic.com/72ygs7.jpg)

Zbych Trofimiuk as Al, kind of similar petite face structure:
(http://i61.tinypic.com/k312zm.jpg)(http://i61.tinypic.com/1494k6w.jpg)

And unrelatedly, here's a character Correon from the 1st season that resembled me our fellow Mr. Manning:
(http://i61.tinypic.com/25pl6km.jpg)(http://i57.tinypic.com/8y9hk4.jpg)

This just in..

I never thought I'd say this but here goes...

Carol Kaye sure looks hot.

 :lol

I hope that's not a scene from a recording session only she thinks she attended…!

Oren Moverman should write a screenplay about her: I Wasn't There

Firehat from the Fire sessions?? Looks promising. thanks for sharing, Lowbacca.

When is the trailer coming out!?

When I first saw that on Facebook this morning I was amazed they tracked down one of the original plastic firehats! Or a reasonable reproduction...looks like they're going all-out period correct with the set designs and props, which is awesome. Notice they even got the masking tape on the bridge of that P-Bass.

Nothing would be worse than seeing a 60's session with an Ibanez bass or something... ;D

...or a bogus plastic firehat, you know how we obsessives are about such details.  :lol

Now if they have a bucket of burning wood in there, I'll be really impressed.   ;D

So you're saying you hope they raked Carol over the coals?

I suddenly have a reason to see this movie, those legs  :p

mmmmmmmmm lovely legs  ;D

RickB

Shouldn't we be getting some Trailers here soon... assuming this is getting released sometime later on this year?

It needs to get distribution first.  If there's no studio behind it yet, there's no marketing department to cut a trailer. They were hoping for a fall or early winter release, so it will be a few more months before trailers and other publicity.

one would think that Capitol Records would be involved in some for and fashion, at least in getting in touch with movie studios..

For them as might not know, Teresa is an excellent bass player in real life, mostly with Adam Marsland's Chaos Band. Also a very nice person.

From Brian's FB:

(https://sphotos-b-lax.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/q77/s720x720/557666_10151803183847241_1016356597_n.jpg)
(https://sphotos-b-lax.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/q79/s720x720/1229998_10151803182867241_217104775_n.jpg)

LA Times today has a 'Summer Sneaks' section on up coming movies through to Sept. No mention of 'Love and Mercy' but new James Brown and Hendrix bio's and 'Jersey Boys' movie on the way. Could be busy for the same niche market.

Plus, Jersey Boys is nothing less than the new Eastwood directorial effort! The first trailer looked pretty good.


Still no release date for Love & Mercy...

(http://www.cristinawilliams.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/carolpic.jpg)

This video is for anybody who doubts Ms. Cowles' bass playing, or Beach Boys, bona fides:

http://youtu.be/Pz3B5tLyRw8

She's the real deal.  Has performed onstage with three Beach Boys, including Brian himself.  She's also a sought-after session background vocalist here in L.A.

Well, I was wrong about casting.  that one dude looks JUST LIKE Brian.

IS that dude in some other picture?

WOULDJA GIT A LOOK AT THOSE GAMS! DAYUM.

A short clip:



http://vimeo.com/93788480

I'd honestly prefer it to be the next "Walk Hard".  :lol

Damn, though that was a trailer or something

It looks like that scene is attempting to replicate the photoshoot for the Surfin' Safari album cover, yet the woodie there looks nothing like the yellow truck seen on the cover.  I normally wouldn't care about something like this, but it does kind of bother me that they'd play fast and loose with the details of such an iconic image (possibly to suit what may be considered a more audience-friendly, stereotypical interpretation of that period).

But... is it "iconic" to anyone but us ?

Yeah, wrong truck but the pants and shirts are spot on and a little poetic license here isn't such a bad thing. These are The Beach Boys, that's a woodie. I've a sneaky feeling we'll find much more - and much worse - to weep and wail over than this.

It's safe to say that the "Surfin' Safari" cover is known to more people than all but two of the songs on that album.  It's the cover of their first album, I think maybe you underestimate its significance to their overall image.


I'm not "weeping and wailing" but I do think that some of the audience will probably see and recognize what they're referencing and notice something is slightly off about it.  It doesn't even look like they're even trying to pose the guys in the same way which makes me wonder what the point of it in the film is.  I will give them props for getting the wardrobe right, but that's about all that is right about it.

All I'm saying is, if they're not concerned with recreating aspects of visual iconography associated with the group they may not care about other, more important things and I think you're right, there will be worse things to complain about. 

Good news for the filmmakers, "Summer Dreams" will always be the worst Beach Boys bio flick.

Perhaps, given their budget, they couldn't find the exact car used on the album cover. Perhaps the scene will revolve around the women and the guys/car will be out of focus in the background (so accuracy won't even matter). Perhaps the reason the guys aren't in the exact position on the car is because it's a scene about the photo shoot where I'm sure many different poses were used.

My point being I think it's kinda pointless to judge aspects of this film based off of a 17 second cell phone video. The Carol Kaye Fire sessions picture gave me great hope that they are shooting for detailed historical accuracy.

It looks like a cheesy TV movie. The women's hairstyles are sort of ridiculous looking, too. I know women wore bouffant hairstyles back then, but those look like cheap wigs.

Well, they don't even have the right guys in that scene from what I understand, as it is Al and not David who is in that scene. So not getting the band members right makes not getting the woodie right less of an issue.

Just wondering if the actual original image is licensed and can not be replicated. Not unheard of given the 119th St Landmark was not permitted to use the original album picture, hence, 6 unrecognizable BB's holding the surf board.

This type of mistake is unacceptable.  Do they not even try to make things acurate?

I don't think David Marks is in the movie. I looked at the cast list, and unless I missed something in the long list, there's no actor listing for a David Marks character. So, I'm sure Al will be portrayed as being in the band continually. It's probably for the sake of time. They're showing over fifty years of Brian's life. It's not a Beach Boys biopic.

Yup. The David Marks years will probably take up a couple of scenes, maximum. It might confuse the general audience to show Al being in the band, than Dave being a member, than both of them being Beach Boys and than David having left for good and (kind of) being replaced by Al. That's a storytelling nightmare, especially if those character versions of the '62/'63 timeframe only appear in a fraction of the narrative. And even if they wouldn't go explicitly into that, it would still mean an unnecessarily rotating line-up of people standing in the background, so to speak. It may be unfortunate for us die-hards (and for David of course, if he cares) but the film will attempt to "capture the essence" of what happened. The Jardine-Marks-Jardine carousel is largely irrelevant to the "Brian Wilson story".

Agree with that interpretation though the ousting of Dave is surely a good means of demonstrating how manipulative and bullying Murry could be…

I agree.

I guess they will take the more direct approach (again, to streamline the plot) in showing how Brian was personally abused by Murry - on an emotional and professional level. That's what has entered the canon of rock 'n' roll history, anyway. I gotta say, I'm psyched to see what they do with the overall narrative style (probably some sort of framing) and how the '62 footage segues into it all. Dazed memories, perhaps?

Exactly.
I have a pretty good feeling that this film is gonna be epic. Don't make judgements of some set photos. Hey, look at raw set pics from, let's say, Lord of the Rings-trilogy with elves and orcs and fake decorations. It looks like nightmare. The final picture is the only thing that matters. I'm sure that the whole cover shoot-scene is just a tiny fragment of the whole picture. It could indeed be some kind of flashback or memory kind of thing. Hell, it can be anything. So don't judge it yet.

What the movie is definetely not gonna be is a list of beach boys facts in a movie-format to satisfy some of the hardcore fans. It's gonna be a character study, and it's about Brian, not David Marks or Alan Jardine. Paul Dano, John Cusack and Paul Giamatti are all top-notch actors. It's gonna be awesome. Trust me  :)

... and capturing the (or an) essence of a story or a person in a piece of art (a feature film, in this case) doesn't presuppose an attempt to reproduce physical reality, or 'facts' (if there is such a thing, especially in historiography). It may deal with a variety of other perceptual concepts. That's basically what most of non-mainstream forms* of feature films do, to some extent. If (the fictionalised) Brian recalls the clarinet guy having green skin that's going to be part of that reality (and the film as a whole wouldn't be any less 'correct' because of it).




*It remains to be seen what kind of movie Love and Mercy will be. There is certainly enough Hollywood power behind it, and an interest in generating commercial success.

I guarantee that 98% of people will not notice that it is the wrong vehicle, wrong pants, shirts or whatever else people have pointed out here.

That is one of the classic images of the beach boys and I know its hard for some die hard BB fans to realize but surf boards and basically everything in that shot is what people think of when they hear the beach boys.

Not trying to be harsh at all but i just think it's being a bit overanalyzed (which can be fun don't get me wrong I'm a big fan as well). Yet I think this shot was done very well and hardly anyone is going to notice any discrepancies from the original image.

The previous credits of the writer and the director are not encouraging.

My only concern is that at this stage in his life Brian has a "f*ck it...tell it all!" attitude, which I would love and could make a great movie however other parties and the lawyers will neuter the soul out of the thing.

I guess I have higher standards than most, but honestly, how many movies about the Beach Boys are going to get made in our lifetimes?  It seems like a miscalculation to me to have a "good enough" attitude when it comes to a movie like this.

It's not something that will affect the quality of the movie in any direct way and I do feel bad derailing the thread with it.  But I do think with something like recreating the photoshoot for an album cover for a movie, you have a certain responsibility as a director/set designer/prop guy to make it somewhat match reality.  Almost everything else in the film not directly tied to a photograph or recorded performance they have some leeway with.  Imagine if recreating the Pet Sounds photoshoot they replaced the llamas and goats with dogs and cats.  They're still animals, so good enough!  Llamas are too expensive to rent!

If they didn't have permission to recreate the cover exactly I guess that they did what they could.  I don't know.  But it does seem to me like maybe someone thought a woodie would better match what the image of the Beach Boys is "supposed to be" and not what it actually was.

Bingo.  We also have to realize that the people who make the film have more than historiographal (?) and artistic constraints: they also have budgetary constraints!  Maybe they got a really good deal on the Woodie. :)

Too many complainers.  Sadly, a number of people on here will probably be too critical going into the theater to really allow themselves to be immersed in the film because they are so fixated on the "what really happened".  Pity.

Exactly. I enjoyed the Ray Charles, Johnny Cash films for what they were without delving into the model of piano, keyboard or guitar the actors were playing. The Brian film plus the slated Hendrix and James Brown movies will be for pure entertainment.

... don't forget Eastwood's Jersey Boys. :-D

The omission of David Marks is starting to remind me of the horrific "Summer Dreams" so called biopic.  I know the film is mainly about Brian, but leaving David out all together is still terrible.

Speaking of accuracy, I know I've read at least one interview where Carol Kaye said she never wore a fire helmet, and that only Brian, Hal Blaine, and (I think) Lyle Ritz put them on. The issue of Mojo that came out around the 50th anniversary had a small sidebar with Carol in it where she said that, at least. Not that it's a big deal; this doesn't look like an actual still from the film anyway, and I'm not about to judge, but I did find it a bit funny in a nerdy sort of way.

In terms of the film overall, I would agree with some of the others here and say that the hardcore fans (us, I suppose) will probably find plenty that'll tighten their sphincters once everything is said and done. It's just unavoidable whenever you're adapting something from existing material, whether the source is fiction (Blade Runner comes immediately to mind) or not. It's extremely hard to make a 90-120 minute movie about anybody, especially Brian Wilson/the Beach Boys, without glossing over or flat-out ignoring certain parts. It doesn't "excuse" the difference in what car they use in what scene, so to speak, but it does make sense if they cut David out. Some of us probably feel like he already gets ignored enough as it is, but that's Hollywood. They've got to keep it "accessible." If anything, it'll give us all an excuse to sneak a flask into the picture for an impromptu error-spotting drinking game.

Yup, she said that and she'll probably bitch about it when the movie comes out, and that she never wore that dress for the "Fire" session (true btw - the pic they based it on dates from 1974).

General observation: this movie isn't being made and marketed for the likes of us (all... what, 400, 500 of us hard-core obsessives ?), it's being made to MAKE MONEY. Thus far, from the little I've seen, it's looking pretty good (but then, so did An American Family...): the little I've heard is probably best described as equivocal. We'll see.

Actually, I'm much more concerned about Brian's book next year. For reasons I don't need to explain to anyone here, that has the considerable potential for true and complete catastrophe. Just like the last one.

Of course! Trailer looks great but its based on the show, which I have seen, and that implies it was the same group. Guess the Seasons obsessives are having a field day right now. 

http://www.deadline.com/2014/04/hot-trailer-clint-eastwoods-jersey-boys/

This part was my favorite part.

I think that Brian will have a difficult time being totally, fully honest in his book. I think he (or his people) will have to do some self-censoring in order to preserve relative peace in BB world (same goes for the movie).

Hope he keeps his story straight about eating sandwiches in the the teepee.

It will be interesting what Melinda Wilson's image will be after both film and book. Better? Worse? Mixed? I'm sure her influence will be apparent in both. I recall Brian told interviewers he was not allowed to talk about Landy anymore. This was well after he left Landy, so it wasn't a legal thing. He tended to hold Landy on a pedestal years after they parted ways. So, Melinda may need to guide Brian's memory on at least that subject, if not others. Brian may also have gaps in his memory that render any autobiography suspect in terms of how much it represents his actual remembrances and point of view.

Given that, when interviewed by Todd Gold for the 1991 piece of trash, the vast majority of Brian's responses were either "yes", "no" or "I don't remember" (which was Gold's excuse for stealing other writers material and reshaping to sound like Brian's recollections), and that it's unlikely his memory or powers of recall have improved in the intervening 23 years, I doubt the new book will be any more reliable or better received than Wouldn't It Be Nice - My Own Story. Probably the best template would be that of David Crosby's autobiography Long Time Gone: for those who've not read it (and you really should), the format is roughly a third first person recollection, a third narrative by the co-author and a third contributions by friends and collaborators. As for Melinda's involvement and portrayal - I think the denizens of this forum can make an educated guess. One thing's for sure, it will be an interesting read.

"Walk Hard while giving a spinal tap with the cruisers- The Brian Wilson story" :lol

Me too but I'm glad it's not, just a badly shot clip. You all really have good vision if you could analyze the lack of accuracy in this shortie. I'll stick to waiting sth. worthwhile.

On the contrary: if you can't tell the difference between the woody in the clip and this...

(http://weirdorecords.com/zen/images/15425.jpg)

... then I'd say your vision needs urgent attention.

Is that a woodie at all on the original cover? I'd have thought it wasn't.

My vision is fine, I just find it boring to A/B the movie attributes with the real thing when watching shaky clip done on el cheapo cellphone. Bad quality really distracts your attention, I've noticed. Plus it's super short.

Nope!  I'd say your if you think your vision is fine, then  you need to get some brain scans, PRONTO.
 Not only is the clip not shaky, but the woodie wagon shown INSTANTLY jumps out as completely different from the SS shot. 

I hope Brian is accurately depicted in this movie.  the other BB films made him look like a dumb ass and sound like Pokey from the Gumby series.   Hopefully Mrs. Wilson will insist on a more respectable depiction.

I hope Paul Dano doesn't get all shrieky, as he has a tendency to do (see: "There Will Be Blood). But I'm sure he'll do an excellent job.

I don't think that's a Woodie either.  Where's the wood?  A Woodie requires there be wood, don't it? (unless the joke here is that all the wood is in Denny's pants)  :lol
It appears to be laden with palm fronds, but not wood, so perhaps it's a Frondie?    Yes, the long forgotten, but famous in its day, Frondie!     ;)

(http://i.imgur.com/jzmTcr9.jpg)
It's definitely not a woodie, just a prewar Ford or Chevy pickup (not sure of the exact make or model year, trucks from that era tend to look pretty similar) rented for the shoot.  It was common for kids in 1962 to turn them into hot rods, which tied into the Beach Boys car subject matter more than the surfing aspect.


If you choose to decide to not care about the inaccuracy that's fine.  But it's another thing to say that the judgement can't be made from the video in question, regardless of what it was shot on.  It's clearly a different vehicle, different poses etc.  I think people want the movie to be good, and I understand that desire.  But choosing to ignore glaring inaccuracies and writing them up as some sort of limitation of cellphone video recording capabilities?  That's a new one on me.

I'm guessing a Model A Ford truck. The 32 Deuce Coupe was, as we Beach Boys fans know, a popular hot rod because it was easy to modify, plentiful and cheap. Woodie wagons held the same advantages for surfers with the added bonus of being large enough to haul a few friends and their longboards.  I can see how the Model A truck would be another good surfing choice for the same reasons.

And, I just realized that I spend way too much time at car shows.

These are all fair points - however, that little snippet can't say anything about the film as a whole. I agree that the Surfin' Safari photo shoot is integral to the band's history but it could be the only factual error found in the movie, we don't have other evidences. It just isn't right to draw early conclusions from a short video, let's wait for the finished result. On a positive note, we've got the Wrecking Crew pictures that, based on the comments, are an accurate display of the real thing. And of course, people were swooning over the casting.

Yesterday, I saw the sci-fi series called "Early Edition" about 2 friends saving Chicago citizens & you know what? The main guy is a ringer for Brian! Quick checking revealed his name is Kyle Chandler. The other guy - Fisher Stevens - looks kinda like Bono, so I thought, "how cool it would be if "Love & Mercy" had the famous dialog between him & Brian". You know, that Cola incident.

If you're being really picky, the pic of Teresa as Carol Kaye has her wearing a dress and boots from the early seventies (as per the original image) and CK says she never wore a fire helmet on 11/28/66.

But I'd never be that anal. ;D

Good points. I would chalk up things like the car they used for the photo shoot as unimportant. I'm sure it was a deliberate decision to do that scene exactly as it was done. It doesn't take away anything from the movie for me. Though if they were to mess up something more solid an important, like how Per Sounds was written or Mike not being involved in The Beach Boys songs as anything but a singer, I would be annoyed. Let's just wait and see. Can't wait for this movie. It's going to be awesome. And the greatest!

As I've just pointed out, we do. And... suppose a Macca biopic featured a scene of the band walking the wrong way across a zebra crossing in Lancaster Gate ? Never hear the end of it. This isn't an obscure thing like the fire hat - it's portraying an important album cover seriously incorrectly.

That's very, very true. But you know, the Abbey Road photo shoot had some outtakes that takes the band entirely out of context and paints a different picture than what the iconic shot ended up being.

In addition to this being the wrong car, it's also not "dressed" like the pickup was with the palms nor is the surf board even in the correct place. But here's the thing, we don't know that there won't be an on-screen "director" for the photo shoot insisting "Oh no, this is all wrong. We need a different car!" since we have absolutely no context for this. We also don't know what role those girls will be playing. More to the point, we don't even know how, or if, this will make it to the final edit.

So, did they potentially "screw" up an iconic shot? Yes. Do we have any idea whatsoever how the shot might be used? No. And it seems a bit odd to me that they'd screw up something like that while putting as much attention as they have into other areas that we've seen photos of...

Good call, Mr. Bender. I already was doubtful about that video, I mean why would they open out one of the (actual) scenes of the biopic if no trailer has surfaced yet? Isn't it, like, illegal/illogical? And even if that shooting makes a final cut, are we going to ditch the whole effort & not get enjoyment? Like someone wisely said, it can't be any worse than 2 previous BBs wannabe films.

One difference is that the Abbey Road image gets circulation.  It's on posters, T-shirts, coasters, handbags. The general public's familiarity with that image is greater because of the exposure, so any change to it would be immediately noticed by pretty much everyone who knows who the Beatles are.  The Beach Boys have never really marketed their image in the same way. Very few people outside of the big fans are going to care if the car is a Woodie or a truck. The general impression of a "Surfin' Safari" is still there.


The other difference is that it's not dependent on a prop. Sometimes substitutions have to be made with props just based on availability and budget.

So... they used the woody just for the few seconds of that clip - and a few promo pics - but not for the actual movie footage, is that what you're saying ? So glad you cleared that up for me.

There are, of course, images from the set showing filming taking place with that woody.

Who are you responding to exactly? My point was that there may be more to the clip that results in the woody not being used for the "photo shoot" in the film. Maybe they end up swapping it for a truck in the context of the film. Maybe it's not supposed to be what we all think it is (the photo shoot). Or, maybe they screwed up and, having seen the error of  their ways after reading the forum responses, will decide to scrap the entire scene in editing.

I just want to chime in to clarify some of the terminology being used with these cars, especially what is a "woodie".

That Model A pickup on the BB's photo was not a "woodie", and it also wasn't a hot rod. A hot rod was customized for racing and speed, and the true hot rods were shells of cars like the Ford Model A that were stripped of most ornamentation and only the bare essentials were left intact so that the body could be kept as light as possible while the engine itself could be reworked, modified, and hot rodded for pure power "off the line", meaning getting as much horsepower when the gas pedal was slammed down on the line of a race.

That's a different goal entirely than what you see in custom cars, which were either designed for flash/looks or a specific purpose, which is where the "woodie" comes in.

The original "woodie" I believe was a Chrysler station wagon called a "Town And Country", that name coined by a man who owned a place called the Boyertown Body Works that made industrial trucks and wagons about 30 minutes from where I live. It was a beautiful vehicle that had wood paneling attached to the sides of the body.

Now here's another factoid I got from my Dad who was a mechanic from the 40's-50's-60's when all of this stuff was happening and kids/guys were coming into his shop with these requests.

The woodies had a nasty habit where the wood paneling would rot and deteriorate as water ran down the sides and collected behind and on the wood panels, just like cars rust in specific areas where the water collects. Factor in salt air/salt spray at beaches and shore areas like Jersey and California where these woodies were often parked and driven, and it could require a lot of work.

One job my dad was asked to do by a friend who owned and drove a woodie wagon back in the day was to help replace the panels which had rotted. My Dad said it was a real pain in the ass, because not only was body work involved but you also had to either hire or know your way around woodworking to get it back in shape. And in many cases, these wood panels would be rotted and faded enough that the restorations you see all shiny and new today are brand new woodwork that someone needed to measure, cut, and craft to replace the originals. That was the joys of owning a "woodie" wagon from a collector's POV.

And the woodie wagon wasn't really "hot rodded" by those who were the true surfers - it would serve no purpose because the wagons were bought by these surfers because they could be found cheap, they looked pretty nice, but above all they were *functional*, and you could put boards both in the wagon itself as the seats could be folded down or removed entirely, or you could strap them down on the roof that was originally designed with racks to accommodate a traveling family's luggage.

And if you needed to crash or spend time with your girl, that same trunk/back area that could be folded down to put the boards in there was a really convenient mobile bedroom too. I didn't say that... :)

Here is a classic "woodie" station wagon in restored state (much more clean and polished than any surfer in the day would have kept it), you can find hundreds of photos like this online. Just wanted to point this out in comparison to that Model A truck chassis that the BB's are shown with in those classic photos...different terminologies at work.

(https://www.alohaaloha.net/uploads_user/1000/82/surfing_1330283338_woody3.JPG)


EDIT: Correcting the part about the Chrysler "Town And Country" as the original woodie, that's not correct and I should have caught myself before writing that...there were various wood-panel cars and wagons pre-WW2, the Chrysler was just one of the more popular models in terms of sales and all that. Not the original by any means.

And to clarify another thing (for those interested in this car stuff) I said "wood panels" a lot in that post, but some of these vehicles had the entire door assembly and side panels crafted from wood, it wasn't just a case of attaching panels to a metal body. This came later when Chrysler and GM put out station wagons in later years that had fake wood paneling tacked on to the body sides which were purely ornamental, and weren't even real wood.

And in recent years as restoring woodies became popular, it's easier to find companies who sell replacement panels and doors and the like, for those who don't want to hire a woodworker to replace the rotted or damaged panels, just like you can buy thousands of "kits" to make or restore various classic cars. Hardly anything like that existed years ago.

I'm sure most folk here know this, but anyhoo - the reason for the palm fronds on the drivers door of the yellow truck is to obscure the name of the guy it was hired from.

Correct, I can recall neither his name nor his business. Cam ?

Getting back to the topic after the sidebar about the car history...

Some of the comments I went back and read over the last several pages are kind of troubling, and I wanted to appeal to reason for just a moment without specifically calling anyone out.

1. We don't know what that beach/car/surfboard clip posted on Vimeo is supposed to be portraying. A poster *assumes* it was to replicate the album cover shoot for Surfin Safari, and on that assumption other comments are posted about how "wrong" the scene setup is from the actual cover.

Question: Does anyone here know for sure that the 17 second clip from the set is supposed to be replicating the SS cover shoot? Does anyone know for sure beyond that how many photo shoots Capitol arranged with the Beach Boys at the beach among surfboards and cars beyond the series of photos that made up the SS cover at the time of their first Capitol releases and related promo and marketing activities for the band?

If someone does, please chime in. If that does turn out to be a setup for replicating the iconic SS cover shot, then so be it, and we'll deal with those issues once we know for sure. But no one except those involved in making the film at this point knows, right?

2. Does anyone posting know what kind of things are happening around getting the historical details, props and imagery/scenery as correct or as close as possible for the detail-oriented fans (like me) on the actual set of this film as it's being made?

For those posting negatives about the details, where are you getting your information in order to post these opinions that suggest this film will be full of mistakes and incorrect details, suggesting it's on the level of the 80's Summer Dreams or the later ABC "Family" TV movie bio?

I'm just a little disappointed that assumptions and opinions based on a few still frames and cel phone clips taken on-set are being used to criticize the whole project's validity and accuracy.

Questions/comment:

Those already posting about the mistakes, are there things you know about this project already that are leading to some of the criticisms on these pages?

Could it be possible that maybe...just maybe...there are things happening behind the scenes in the production of this movie that need to be seen in a finished form or at least reported before determining and posting how wrong or how "cheap" it will be? That's just taking an opinion or an assumption perhaps a bit too far before we've even gotten the full story, I'd think, and if casting doubt and negativity on a project that is still actively "in the works" is the goal, I'd suggest it might be a little unfair if not uninformed unless those posting it have other information to the contrary.

And as someone wisely pointed out, even after all of the footage has been shot, who here can tell what will or will not make the "final cut" of the film whenever it's released? There is always a possibility as happens with every film ever made that advance photos, scenes, and even entire pages of script get cut during the editing process and are never seen beyond things like the still frames and the cel phone video posted in this thread.

We just don't know yet.

Or so she says....

...while in fact it was James Jamerson who wasn't wearing a fire helmet that day.

 ;)

wasn't it some beach contractor type guy named calypso joe? if not then i am losing brain cells rapidly... :)

I don't think the problem is so much that the car isn't a Woodie, I think the problem is that it sets a precedent.

can't speak to your loss of cells, but you are correct with Calypso Joe; according to Jon Stebbins in  "The Beach Boys FAQ: All That's Left to Know About America's Band"
the truck was rented by nick venet from the "Hollywood beatnik "specifically for the cover shoot and driven onto the sand at Mailbu's Paradise Cove

A precedent for what?

thanks  and set up cold one for Klaas  :)

For more obvious blunders.

I'm assuming you didn't bother to read my post on this page, not knowing of course if you did or didn't but assuming in the same way a set of photos taken on-set during filming are *known to be* A. A recreation of the Surfin Safari cover shoot and B. Will absolutely beyond a doubt be included in the final cut of the film as a portrayal of the SS cover shoot.

May I ask how you're aware of this in order to make not only those assumptions but also use those assumptions to conclude the film will contain more obvious blunders?

Seriously, how did you get this info?

I don't get the big deal over getting the exact truck for the movie. The movie is about telling the gist of BW's story with a few liberties here and there.

And again, you're basing even this on an *assumption* that the still photos in question are showing the Surfin Safari cover shoot...once again, while it may be true, do you know for sure? Have you seen rough cuts, the daily rushes, or whatever other film was shot for the project enough to know?

If it turns out to be, then so be it - but again, what the heck is the point of basing all of this crap on assuming something before knowing the facts?

I'm assuming - just like you are.

Besides, I didn't say there was going to be more mistakes. I'm simply saying that, if this is part of the film, it sets a precedent for more mistakes to arise in the movie.

Let's do an exercise here, just for fun. I'll post another photo taken on the set and anyone who knows the story behind it and wants to comment can feel free to post any analysis, interpretation, or even assumption about what's being shown and how it relates to the film's overall quality. Keep in mind the film is still being worked on and finalized, I believe the Hollywood folks call it "post"? I'm not sure, please correct if needed.

Here goes nuttin':

(http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n295/guitarfool2002/teresacowles_zps5004a390.jpg)

The people in charge of that background and set design are not the director or writer. Look how fantastic "American Family" looked, especially the first part of that mini series. They had the old recording studio and vintage instruments down pat. However, that mini-series overall sucked. I'd say hold judgment until the final project is complete.

Saying it sets a precedent for more mistakes is the same thing as saying there will be more mistakes, right? That's a pretty strong "if" in this context, and again based on the unknown unless you've seen stuff that only the crew has seen so far.

Remember with this film as it stands today - NONE of the actual film that was shot nor any of the promotional still frames from that footage has been released. If you're comfortable making judgements about its possible quality without seeing even a single clip of footage from the actual film, I'd say at least realize that such statements are coming from the complete unknown at this point.

Lessee... the actors portraying the Boys are wearing the exact same clothes as the real band were on the Surfin' Safari & Surfer Girl album front covers... no, you're right, the scene is obviously nothing to do with the Paradise Cove photoshoot. At all and whatsoever.

So glad we've got that sorted.

Consider this: whether or not the scenes we've dissected in this thread make the screen or not, fact is that the wrong vehicle has been used, and the clothes T is wearing fro a "Fire" session in 1966 are based on a pic of Ms. Kaye that was taken circa 1974. Doesn't exactly fill me with confidence, but we'll see.

Just to be that guy, Pet Sounds was a post session title. Should say "Run James Run" or nothing.

 :lol

i didn't even think of that! man i'm slipping

These aren't things that a casual viewer would notice or care about. And that's the audience they're going for; it's a Hollywood biopic, not a documentary. It's a piece of entertainment first. I don't think minor things like the make of car in the Paradise Cover photoshoot, or the chronology of alternate titles for tracks are considered important by the filmmakers; I never expected an exceptionally-researched movie. If they capture the spirit of the story, and get the ground facts right, that'll do it for me.

Provided, of course, it really was only Giamatti having a hard time remembering when the sandbox part was...

Doesn't Paul G. play Landy? What if they have a sandbox during the Landy years? Oh, the horrors. Unless there was a sandbox during the Landy years, too, who knows.

+1.  It's not like I want to see a movie chock-full of historical inaccuracies, but I'm also much more interested that the basic gist and spirit of the story, AND THE MUSIC, are right than models of car.  I'm sure the music will be authentic if Darian has any say in the matter (and provided of course that all BRI legal issues have been worked out...).  However, if we see John Stamos replace Dennis Wilson in 1969 following the Manson murders, I might consider that a bit TOO much artistic license (or licence to our friends across the pond).

Or better yet... if Charles Manson is being portrayed by John Stamos.  :o

Calling all Photoshoppers...

I touched on this a few pages ago but I would bet the farm the legalities of shooting a recreation of this scene stopped it cold. I can see major difficulties from the label allowing their image to be used at a reasonable cost to start with. It just so happens I was at Paradise Cove 2 weeks ago and the place is a zoo during the summer just getting parking for the restaurant. Allowing a movie shoot in such a small area for I guess days would really impact on the owners business plus the same family owns the property surrounding.

End of the day we could be talking a minute of a 90 minute movie. So much simpler to do a recreation elsewhere.

Did any band member or Nick Venet or anyone else around the band own a 1961 blue Ford Galaxie Sunliner convertible as shown in this pic? They're wearing the same clothes as the SS cover, it's on the beach, etc...was this the model car that someone involved in the shoot drove onto the beach that day in question for the Capitol shoot? Or perhaps is it there for a scene to show something other than the cover shot around the Ford pickup, which may or may not be somewhere else on the beach where they were filming the movie that day? I don't know...does anyone here know?  ;)

(http://pendletonblog.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/3.jpg)

Only two guesses/assumptions/comments so far about the Teresa Cowles on-set photo #2?

Glasses are the same as the "Fire" pic... Brian's handwriting was never that good... wouldn't be a full chart...

And stuff.  ;D

Comment/question specifically for Andrew: About the clothes Teresa is wearing, consider this. Could it be a case of going for the most familiar and recognizable over the 100% accurate timeline?

A Google image search of Carole produces the studio session photo of her wearing that dress and sunglasses from 1974 three times on the first three rows of results. Someone not familiar with the history searching for what Carole looked like in the studio at work playing bass would see that image the most times. Would the *average* person - not a Beach Boys fan who has dug deep into the history as some of us have done - know that the original photo is from 1974 on the surface without digging deeper?

Taking that further, if Hollywood wanted to portray Carole Kaye at work in the studio in late 1966, isn't that 1974 photo of her something more easily recognized which the casual fan or interested audience member might connect with? As there are no photos of Carole actually playing at a 1966 Smile session that I know of, or at least that are widely known or seen publicly, a costume designer and set designer might see a benefit in going with a familiar image where an actual image of her recording Smile is not available or widely known, whichever is the case.

So they dress Teresa Cowles in that colorful outfit and shades, stage it just like the familiar 1974 studio shot that people would see immediately on the most basic Google search for example, and there is a visual connection right away to a majority of your potential audience. Not to mention, the dress itself is striking, colorful, and looks terrific in color, and Teresa looks terrific wearing it. Even those who never saw the original 1974 shot would be drawn in by the color of that dress and the image it presents.

In short, it's a perfect "Hollywood" image that would jump off the screen both visually with a beautiful woman wearing a striking outfit and also it connects with a familiar archived photo of the woman Teresa is playing at work in the studio for those who have seen the original. Instant connection, instant Hollywood flash, and all that. It's an attention getter, plain and simple.

Now wouldn't there be a case to be made that a Hollywood film production would go for the more striking and more recognizable image of that outfit from 1974 over an imagined image from 1966 when nothing might exist from the actual 1966 session to work from?

For that *possible* reason - Hollywood choosing a more striking visual even though it's from 1974 and not 1966 - I don't have as much of a problem with them taking that kind of liberty with the costuming.

 :)

I'm afraid some here are going to be too busy nit-picking to enjoy this movie for what it is.

Reminds me of when I worked at Nestle Rowntree and I went to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

"WHAT!!! That's not how they make chocolate!"

"They mix chocolate in a melangeur, not a river"

The only bit they got right was the Oompa Loompas.

So yes, there are going to be some disgruntled, highly anal Smiley Smilers in the cinema.

Hey, maybe we should all go together!

I've seen that photo tagged as from 1974 at least five or six times on various websites.  ;D

The 2000 miniseries, while being unquestionably and rightly vilified regarding the various characterizations and, oh hell, just the script overall, managed to be remarkably accurate as regards a sense of time and place and a host of incidental detail: I for one laughed out loud when Murry handed out the "I Know Brian's Dad" buttons, and that was on a TV budget. This is a BW biopic made with the active participation of the subject and his management, and you'd like to think they'd have a vested interest in getting it right, if only because they know that the likes of us will be doing exactly what we're doing here. Hell, maybe they should have recruited some of us as factual advisers (not me, obviously) and thus deflected the inevitable online storm in a teacup that's, let's be honest, has already begun here. Some of us - not all, thankfully - are fussed about this because we care, maybe too much granted, and because due to the very nature of the band, such an opportunity to do it right comes around far less often than does that other BEA band. It's not been done right yet, maybe never will, but a close approach would be nice for a change.

And... yes, it is odd that no official trailers/teasers have yet come to pass. Damn thing's due out in six months.  ???

I enjoyed Stones The Doors ever though there were enough glaring errors to make the Pope cuss.  :)

I'll bite.  

Of all the songs on Pet Sounds to depict a session from on film they choose the title track, an instrumental that beyond the familiarity of the title is not exactly well known in their oeuvre.  "Wouldn't It Be Nice" or "God Only Knows" would have been much better choices and more familiar to people who aren't even familiar with Pet Sounds or the group in general.  Everybody has heard those songs and the sessions actually contain interesting moments that would be easy to dramatize.  

The "Run James Run" session is probably the least interesting from PS, however great the final track may be.  There's only about a minute of session chatter, it was recorded in 3 takes, used a fairly small personnel of musicians and IIRC nearly all of the tracks were separate overdubs.  Which means there are almost bound to be inaccuracies with how the session is depicted in the film.  Hopefully other, more iconic/interesting sessions from Pet Sounds are seen in the final film.

And heres the thing AGD. As a casual Doors fan, I am none the wiser. That lead singer of theirs. Long haired lizard king guy (tongue in cheek btw) He died in the end regardless or not if Stone parted his hair the right side in the 64 scene. Thats the story!

Working to a set budget on the BW bio we should imagine a scenario like this. Accountant goes to the producer and says "We have to cut one of these three things to get back on target. The rights to use 'California Girls', The rights to use 'Heroes and Villains', or the payment to Capitol to recreate the "Surfin Safari" shoot.

Given a choice of the above, I know which of the two I would want to keep to tell Brians story.

What payment ?  Capitol hold the copyright on the cover photo (and outtakes), but I don't ever recall them claiming intellectual copyright over how the image was composed. Did Varese Sarabande have to pay a fee to use that concept on this CD ?

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41CW8X9W45L.jpg)

Damn fine collection, btw.

I'm going by the fact that the Hawthorne monument did not use the image and used 6 band members with zero likeness to any we know. Seem to remember the folks behind it said Capitol refused to let them use the likeness. Don't quote me being 100% accurate but I'm in the ball-park.

True - I remember that too, but fact is that the plaque on the memorial is recognizably from the same photoshoot, just as the CD artwork is.

It's also entirely possible that there was a last minute change to the script or the order they were shooting scenes in and they simply couldn't source a 1929 Model A Truck with the appropriate look fast enough. These things happen. And again, we have no idea how this will integrate into the final cut of the film. Personally, I try to judge my food by how it looks on the plate and then tastes in my mouth, not how it looks sitting in the oven.

Who's to say this is the only Pet Sounds session they'll depict? Might be part of a montage. Or a publicity grab, given the anachronism.
We can't tell. I think we should wait for a trailer before everyone starts grumbling. WHICH SHOULD BE OUT BY NOW

Good point. I vaguely remember a story about the Marx Brothers' movie "At The Circus". They had a gorilla skin available only for about half of the shooting, as they only found out during the filming, thus the gorilla - involved in the plot! - mysteriously transforms to an orang-utan some time in the middle of the movie...

Speaking of the Doors movie, I don't know enough about them to ever spot inaccuracies, but it was one of the very few movies I considered walking out of...

There are a lot of reasons why things get changed in a movie. Shooting availability of a site, prop availability, time, budgets. I took a screenwriting class where the teacher was talking about working on a TV show.  The whole story was set in a warehouse and was something of a suspense/thriller thing. The warehouse that was booked for the shoot wound up being double booked and they had to look for a new location at the last minute. None of the approved warehouses were available within the shooting time frame, but a school was. So, the whole script had to be rewritten for the new location. 

Maybe the production team went looking for a yellow Model A truck but one wasn't available through the approved rentals. Or maybe the only model A truck was blue and couldn't be altered. Or maybe the Woodie was cheaper and fit in the budget. Something like this doesn't mean a lack of interest in accuracy. It's just the practical side of movie making.

At any rate, we fans are the only ones who will obsess over these details and inaccuracies.  Most people are just looking for a good story.

I hope I'm not overstaying a welcome in this thread by posting all of this, but it plays into a lot of what I'm interested in, from the little details to period-correct props and set design in film/TV, to the antiques and historical items scene and how it all comes together to stage a show like "Mad Men" for example, or a film like this where people with a keen eye watch for it. I could go on, but...

...That Model A truck and the on-set photos. Again from the car show/car collecting world (I don't own one but I've been following it since a kid...), the Ford Model A truck is in and of itself not a difficult antique car to find. I see them every year at car shows, in various colors and configurations - everything from old work trucks to produce wagons to fire equipment to everything else. It was a very popular model to work with back in the day, it was affordable for more people, and they sold a lot of them at the time.

Another thing about the Model A in general - In the several years it was produced, there was little or no difference between, say, a 1929 and a 1931 unless you looked under the hood, and even then it was mechanical and not cosmetic. So for 98% of people looking at examples, it would be hard to pick out a 1929 in a row of 10 Model A's versus other years.

Having said that, it wouldn't be *too* difficult for a set design/props team on a film crew to locate one. If not from a rental company or agency, the call could be put out in the collector world and one could be rented for use. This happens regularly whenever old cars are needed to dress a movie or TV set with period cars and trucks. It's almost a cottage industry, and again if a rental agency doesn't have one the word gets sent out and chances are a collector has one somewhere.

Now - Finding a yellow Model A truck may be a bigger challenge, but they're not rare autos per se - it could be found. Would the owner, though, allow set designers to mock it up with palm leaves, various wood framing and the like? Who knows...some collectors would refuse not wanting to harm the condition of their collectible. But everyone also has a price, and it wouldn't be too tough to find a lesser-condition example that a collector wouldn't mind having dressed up a bit.

Bonus: For a replica of this cover shoot, the truck wouldn't need to run, or even have an engine to deliver the visual. It would need to be hauled onto that beach, filmed, and hauled off just like any prop.

Here's the thing: I don't know what that cel phone footage captured on set. *Perhaps* they were replicating the SS cover shoot with a later woodie wagon versus the Model A we all know. Perhaps they were filming another aspect of that cover shoot using the woodie...Only people involved directly in the film know what happened.

I'll fess up: I love the details too, the little details...if they used a 40's woodie rather than the Model A to replicate the cover shoot, I'd have to ask "why?" considering Model A's in general are not terribly hard to find or rent, even in 2014. There are some examples in my area that are at the local car shows every summer - again, not an uncommon antique car model.

And the other photos of that shoot show that blue '61 Ford Galaxie...they got that car period-correct, and went for the right look and the type of car that you'd see in 1962. Why go fully authentic on a '61 Galaxie but totally miss the mark on the 1929 Model A that is an icon of early Beach Boys history?

I just don't know, most of us just don't know, and we won't until we see how those scenes are worked into the final cut, if they make the cut at all.

And that's in my mind as I'm still open to the possibility that the 40's woodie on set may have been other than what we might think it is in the context of the film.

But I may be wrong, and we'll soon know for sure. More food for thought.  :)

Dated 8/7/13:

(http://www.laineygossip.com/Content/images/articles/beach-boys-07aug13-04.jpg)

Yep: Like I said, if that is indeed the attempt to replicate the SS cover, I wouldn't understand the reasons why considering everything I just posted about finding a Model A truck to stage the scene and be accurate to detail.  ;D

Of course if we had our way the makers would have bought the actual board, which is for sale last time I looked for several hundred thousand. They need to hire a Marks character too. Of course just to p!ss the fanatics off the director would get him to point at the ocean with the wrong arm. :lol

I hate to revive this thread with no pictures/updates, but that is kinda the problem - What the heck is going on with this movie? Apparently it's going to be out later this year and yet we have no trailer. Hell, I haven't even seen any updates for this movie in months!

Anyone know what the holdup may be?

I was hoping we'd be seeing a trailer sometime this summer

It's officially opening in Australia on the 26th of November and portucal on the 15th of January. Those are the ony two release dates on imdb

Still a while away but you'd at least expect an official poster by now or some news about it entering film festivals

Wha!? Well that's great to hear!

Don't trailers normally come out like sometimes 6 months in advance? I think we're due for a trailer soon...

I'd guess sometime in the next few weeks.

To be honest I care more about the music. I really want to know more about Atticus Ross's involvement . Maybe some cool remixes of beach boys material, hopefully smile stuff. Well that's just me dreaming  ;D

Wow, thanks! Hopefully it hits the US this year, but I doubt it  :-[

Hopefully it hits the US at all.

Somebody or somebodies wrote a  long Wikipedia article about it, with 24 footnotes linking to just about every article written about it. Nothing new, but interesting in spots.

Love & Mercy is to premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in September:
http://www.billboard.com/articles/business/6175424/love-mercy-brian-wilson-biopic-last-five-years-anna-kendrick-eden-whiplash-toronto-film-fest (http://www.billboard.com/articles/business/6175424/love-mercy-brian-wilson-biopic-last-five-years-anna-kendrick-eden-whiplash-toronto-film-fest)

"It continues to look for a distributor."

Should this be a bit concerning? Or will a distributor most likely pick it up after the film fest?

(also, thanks for the link Judd. Perhaps a Smiley Smile road trip to the premier is in order? 8))

Correct me if I am wrong, but one of the purposes of entering a film into a film festival is to shop for a distributor.

I am ready for a road trip! ;D

Yep. And this is definitely a film where I see a lot of room for negotiation. The Brian Wilson story is fascinating, and if told right and promoted right (and I have faith that this is a good film), it could equate to a sleeper hit. But you'd have to convince the distributors of that.

Nope this is its first festival, if it doesn't get one at Toronto then that's concerning

 :woot

Gonna go see it at the cinemas ASAP on the 26th!

Paul Dano as Brian Wilson

(http://i57.tinypic.com/veql3m.jpg)

Holy sh*t. Thanks Shady! Lookin great!

OMG SHADY THANKS THAT LOOKS AWESOME

Woohoo! :hat

Looks A LOT like him, this movie is lookin good (as long as you can look past the car confusion  :lol :lol :lol )

They were shooting for this film just this past Sunday. Must have been for finishing touches, because the casting call was for cars (from the mid '80s).

http://www.projectcasting.com/casting-calls-and-auditions/love-mercy-movie-casting-call-for-extras-cars-in-los-angeles/

We should all keep an eye out here:  http://www.youtube.com/user/tiff/videos.  Looks like the trailer may hit sometime soon.

Also, for those interested, here's the TIFF Opening Press Conference:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBk4IhdAH84&list=UUmUpllWyvJ2eNCbZcNBJb4Q.  "Love & Mercy" is announced around the 14:09 mark.

The James Brown biopic doing well would help this get picked up quickly. And that picture of Dano as Brian is impressive. Like had to look twice impressive.

Photo shoot for Ralph Lauren?

There will be a lot of reviews of the film generated by the Toronto Film Festival, so we'll know if it's great or not.

Looking good!



Yeah. Well. Nah. We'll know if that type of reviewer likes it. ;)

http://www.tiff.net/festivals/thefestival/programmes/specialpresentations/love-mercy

Nothing new, but a higher resolution photo of Dano as Brian.

And another still of Cusack and Elizabeth Banks.

It is amazing. Everything's done right, I think. In fact, I was scrolling down to scan this thread, and mistakenly thought: oh, a BW piccie at the pool, nice, and went down farther, only to discover that it actually wasn't BW but the man portraying him... so there is definitely something very, very right here.

Brian's been taken off the producer billing.

Can't see that as any sort of significant problem.

Just wondering...  do we think there will be original Beach Boys music on the soundtrack?

No clue

Here's a quote from the director Bill Pohlad,  from the LA Times back in 2011:

I have no interest in making a biopic.…What's fascinating to me is to look at the different elements in his life, like that super-creative period when he was doing Pet Sounds and the later part when he was redeemed.…You don't have to know the music here in the same way you didn't have to know the math in Beautiful Mind…What we want to do is let you experience the story in a personal way.


I doubt there will be much Beach Boy music in it because the rights to it are very expensive. The last film project to feature a lot of original Beach Boys music, American Family, cost millions of dollars in music rights, to the point that it took up almost one-third of the total budget.

but, I don't know how that all works, but using 'beach boys' music, wouldn't they be kinda paying themselves anyway for the use????

I thought 'Brother' get heaps for using songs in movies....??....


RickB

Huh. You got a source for that?

I place my bet (& just being positive) that there will be orig. BBs music on OST. If a little.

I think you're incredibly wrong.

I think there will be as much Beach Boys music on there as needed. I'm not sure how the movie is structured or what it'll be like, but whenever an original Beach Boys record will be needed, I'm sure it'll be used. This is a big Hollywood production about Brian Wilson, given the blessing by Brian Wilson. There will be Beach Boys music.

It's an independent production. It's not a major studio financed movie or a movie financed by a big TV network like ABC (American Family).  It was financed by individual investors.  I guess we'll know when the movie is released. It may also use non-original versions of Beach Boys songs. They can show Paul Dano singing a song at the piano as he writes it rather than having the original record playing.

I can't find a link to the quote for what the song rights cost for "American Family," but remember an interview with John Stamos in which he said the cost for using original recordings of Beach Boys songs ran into the millions. I looked up the movie on IMDb, and it only listed 15 songs total, but I'm not sure that was the definitive list or not. In any case, it's not uncommon for the rights to a major hit to run into six figures for one use.

Expensive or not, it's all boring, I'm not here to discuss business side, I'm waiting for seeing the movie (read for entertainment), so I seriously hope you are wrong & even if not - well, at least we'll get to hear the actors' singing & for fun compare them to original voices, did they manage to replicate the sound of The BBs & stuff (read fine acting).

Considering the movie is going to be a large chunk of Brian's life with Landy and afterwards, there may not be a lot of time devoted to the Beach Boys years, anyways. They only have to feature maybe four or five key tracks to highlight his biggest hits with the Beach Boys. The rest of the film can use his solo work. They might use a mixture of the old studio recordings with freshly done remakes. Brian himself mentioned that he liked John Cusack's singing, and Paul Dano said he learned piano before undertaking the role. It would seem natural that those actors did at least a bit of singing and playing themselves. It would make a better match for their speaking voices than the way it was done for a piano-and-voice scene in "American Family," where they had the middle-aged Brian Wilson do the singing voice for the young actor who played him. It sounded completely out of place.

Maybe it's me, but at first glance I thought it was Stebbins.   :)

There is a lot of good stuff during his solo years, so I'll be glad for that too.

Well, if Brian said so, I believe him, he has a dog ear. Although, having seen "1408" in Russian but with audible English, I didn't think John had nice speaking voice, more so, it was boring. I read that there's not much difference between the actual voice & singing, & once you heard someone talking you can easily imagine them singing. Maybe John is an exception from the rule, like many are (edit: i.e. dull voice-pleasant singing & pleasant voice-singing nothing special).

 :-D

For a preview of  Dano playing a character as a troubled creative writer on an emotional rollercoaster, see Ruby Sparks before seeing Love and Mercy.  I'm sure this has been discussed previoiusly on this thread but it is worth mentioning again IMO.

The publishing is still owned elsewhere though right?

(http://oi59.tinypic.com/rlxbh2.jpg)

LOVE & MERCY: THE LIVES, TIMES AND MUSIC OF BRIAN WILSON REIMAGINED

I really hope that's not the name of the movie

https://www.yahoo.com/movies/film/love-and-mercy-the-lives-times-and-music-of-brian-wilson-reimagined (https://www.yahoo.com/movies/film/love-and-mercy-the-lives-times-and-music-of-brian-wilson-reimagined)

‍

Not sure what to think of John Cusack's look in the film

(https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.tiff.net/content/carousel/f70aac00cf5f9c33fe6bc38dd7f955ce.jpg)

That reminds me - I had a dream last night that I met John Cusack in a shopping mall, he was surrounded by fans, and I walked up to him and asked him to do his impression of Brian Wilson. He just looked at me, and I woke up. ???

Hi all,

I like the way everyone is talking abut how they feel.  Yet it isn't who looks like the person it is who has that best agent that gets the person the part in a movie. 

That's one way to look at it; no matter how head in the sand it is....

;D

http://www.tiff.net/festivals/thefestival/programmes/specialpresentations/love-mercy

Times now posted

One of the most bizarre things I read on this board.

"Dispensing with staid biopic conventions, director Bill Pohlad nimbly intercuts between two key periods in Wilson's life, shining a double spotlight on his rise to stardom with the Beach Boys in the sixties and his remarkable eighties solo resurgence. As the younger Wilson, Paul Dano gives a superb performance that conveys the artist's prodigious gifts as well as his increasingly precarious mental state; the scenes of creative exploration during the Pet Sounds sessions are exhilarating. John Cusack is equally compelling, burrowing into himself as Dano's middle-aged counterpart. The actors are joined by the ever-excellent Paul Giamatti, very much in his element as Wilson's Svengali-like therapist, and by Elizabeth Banks as Melinda Ledbetter, the Cadillac saleswoman who would become Wilson's second wife and spiritual saviour, as well as a chief catalyst in his late-career revitalization."

i like the sound of this. all we need now is the trailer

Dispensing with staid biopic conventions, director Bill Pohlad nimbly intercuts between two key periods in Wilson's life, shining a double spotlight on his rise to stardom with the Beach Boys in the sixties and his remarkable eighties solo resurgence.

Thanks for sharing Cyncie.

If they were intercutting between the 60s and present day the film could end with scenes of Brian losing control of Smile in the 60s and revisiting the material in 2004, the whole movie culminating with young and old Brian simultaneously performing Surf's Up alone at the piano. Man if the writer's are stuck for a Hollywood style ending dripping with overblown pathos, they can have that idea for free.

Sounds fantastic.. Man, I cannot wait for this.






EDIT:

Another - quite unsettling - promo image from the film:

(http://oi60.tinypic.com/efj3wy.jpg)

I'm really looking forward to the movie

Apparently I'm waiting for the check from BRI before I decide which way I'm going to go on the movie. ;D

Well, just finished reading the script. Hesitant to say much else, except that it reads like a very condensed version of many of the musical/biographical hit points we have all come to know so well (that biopic thing), including many that were previously covered in the TV films (but here seems much less cringeworthy, depending, of course, on the direction and deliveries, and this is a pretty good cast of actors). I'm especially excited for Dano to wipe clean our bad memories of the TV Looney Bri's. As stated above, it essentially focuses on intercutting between the Bri/Mel intro (and then enter Landy) and the 64-67 recording sessions (where almost all of the BB's dialogue takes place) ranging from I Get Around (with Murry being Murry) to Pet Sounds to GV to Smile (including the inevitable Mike/Van Dyke confrontation, this time over "snuff" rather than "crows"). The transitions between the two eras is where we get inside Brian's psychoacoustic interiority, with mashups of voices and music in his head, so that could be very either artful or very problematic (or both), but I like the way it reads in description and I think Dano can pull this off without too many histrionics. The structure is simple and focused and the back and forth 'tween 60's and 80's seems a much better choice than a straightforward biographical timeline from Hawthorne to End titles approach. Very few extraneous scenes or padded dialogue - there's a bit of Mike, some of Carl, less of Dennis (and Al and Bruce each have only a line or two). This is really about Brian, not "America's Band."

Audree gets a brief scene.
Spector gets a brief scene.
Marilyn gets a brief scene or two (listening to PS)
Hal and Brian have a nice, supportive moment together, as do all three Wilson brothers.
Inside Pop (LB's voice over) makes an appearance and there are some notes in the script that call for montages of other archival footage (Beatles, etc).
Definitely musically informed, if not overly fetishized (name check Western, Gold Star, Carol, Hal, Chuck, Banana and Louie, Wonderful, etc.)
If all the music cues cited in the script are actually in the soundtrack, it could make for an interesting album (Sunrays, Ronettes, Beatles)
And best of all, nary a beard is mentioned....

Looking forward to this. Should be fun and it will help set some of the previous biopic records straight (at least from the Bri/Mel perspective). My main concern remains the curious casting of Cusack, but he is an excellent actor, so I'll try to remain
 open-minded.

Wow, thanks for that PS. Do you know how his '88 solo album is portrayed (like, is he in the studio recording Love and Mercy, etc)?

And thanks for posting that description Tony P.

I'm really hoping we get a trailer in the very near future.

 :lol

cheers PS for that.

But where did you get a copy of the script?
Any chance....... ;)

am looking forward to this even more now. Also cant wait to hear Atticus Ross's score of the film aswell

surely a trailer will be made available in the coming days

I think my preview was general enough not to spoil the fun for anyone, so I'll refrain from any further comment. The rest is best left up to "your imagination"

Not sure if this was Dennis being filmed for the later scenes? (http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4d722b3127ccef753599bc14700000030O01IaOHDFwzYg9vPgw/cC/f%3D0/ls%3D00103081088420140903201251867.JPG/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/)

Looks like the psychiatrist from Twin Peaks.

Not really related but that street photo reminds me of something:

I just caught part of the film "Harry And Tonto" shown on TV last night, and there is a scene where Harry's son played by Larry Hagman meets him in Hollywood on the walk of fame in a Caddy convertible. If you look in the background, the whole scene was filmed across the street from Pickwick Books, which loomed large in the Brian Wilson mythology at least according to the story told of the flashback he had while browsing books there in the 60's.

The film was shot in 73-74 I believe, so it was neat to see the storefront of the Pickwick pretty much as it was in the 60's.

Harry And Tonto is a great film, BTW...if you haven't seen it, I'd recommend it! And keep an eye open for the Pickwick making a cameo appearance.

This was shot in  Canada. I'm not sure if he was an extra or Dennis' character off set who kept his look off set.

Looks more like this guy to me. --------> (http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php?action=dlattach;attach=3031;type=avatar)

Dr Jacoby?

(https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ5JCXhv1KajdzeEIbx2h7MBuQ6Ms34EBDO6_FuFMQb-BhnpUUB)

Hi guys!

I'm new here. I am a big fan of the Beach Boys from Russia (not as big as most of all you, but I love this music since my childhood) and also in the big wait of Love & Mercy biopic. I just found some pics from the filming. Sorry if they are already here:

(http://i61.tinypic.com/30k7fx1.jpg)

(http://i60.tinypic.com/2mxpxso.jpg)

The excellent Teresa Cowles on bass there.

Not sure Carol Kaye had the same bass... But looking great!

I thought Carol Kaye was playing Carol Kaye in the movie? At least that's what she told me… :)

She had the same bass, sunburst Fender Precision, and if we're talking accuracy note that they also have masking tape stuck to the bridge, which is something Carol did specifically for recording bass when playing with a pick. It's a great "trick" in general, I've recorded nearly every bass track I've ever done with a pick with a similar piece of foam or tape at the bridge to cut down on various pings and overtones you'd get when picking a certain way.

(http://www.premierguitar.com/ext/resources/archives/5adc4d29-e127-44a4-9cb0-48bbb6cd5b69.JPG)

In a bizarre twist, Carol Kaye is playing Teresa Cowles playing Carol Kaye in the movie. Carol also does her own stunts, and is Carol Kaye's body double in the Cool Cool Water scene.

She also played James Jamerson in Standing in the Shadows of Motown.