Pictures from "Love and Mercy" biopic

[CenturyDeprived]

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.

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).

[joe_blow]

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

[KittyKat]

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.

[Andrew G. Doe]

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.

[joshferrell]

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

[RangeRoverA1]

A short clip:

From the set: video for the upcoming feature "Love & Mercy," based on Brian's life.

http://vimeo.com/93788480

Damn, thought that was a trailer or something

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.

[Andrew G. Doe]

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



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

[Micha]

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

[RangeRoverA1]

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



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

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.

[bgas]

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



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

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. 

[donald]

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.

[MarcellaHasDirtyFeet]

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.

[SenorPotatoHead]

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

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) 
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!     

[Ebb and Flow]

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.

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.

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.

[Cyncie]

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

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.

[RangeRoverA1]

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.

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.

[Andrew G. Doe]

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.

[Niko]

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.

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.

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!

[Andrew G. Doe]

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.

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.

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.

[ToneBender631]

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.

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.

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...

[RangeRoverA1]

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.

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.

[Cyncie]

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.

[Andrew G. Doe]

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.

[ToneBender631]

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.

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.

[guitarfool2002]

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.




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.