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Alan McGee biopic

Started by Ballad of Ballard Berkley, July 03, 2019, 01:05:31 AM

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Ballad of Ballard Berkley

This might actually be quite good/not shit, I reckon. Written by Irvine Welsh, exec produced by Danny Boyle* and directed by Nick Moran, who did a pretty good job with the Joe Meek biopic, Telstar. What's more, it stars the great Ewen Bremner as McGee.

https://www.nme.com/news/first-pictures-released-upcoming-alan-mcgee-biopic-creation-stories-2513650

Now, McGee is a right old wally and I don't know if Welsh has written anything decent in years (I quite enjoyed the film adaptation of Filth, but I haven't followed his literary career at all), but I still think it has the potential to be a lorra lorra fun a la 24 Hour Party People. This is a saga that's begging to be transformed into a wild, fantastical film, which is obviously what Welsh is going for.

Thoughts?
 
* Let's draw a discreet veil over his Beatles film.

mojo filters

Well I thought Telstar was great, but then Joe Meek was always going to provide infinitely more interesting subject matter compared with the actual musicians he produced.

An Alan McGee biopic focused around his Creation work sounds really promising, if done well.

McGee is an interesting character, but there's also plenty of scope to carefully cherry pick the most interesting activities of the various bands from that label - without having to waste time establishing such folks with their own biographies.

If nothing else, presumably it'll have a cracking soundtrack!

poodlefaker

It's all about Biff Bang Pow and the drama they had recording "Pass the Paintbrush, Honey": arguments with the studio manager, bust-ups with fanzine writers. Stars Ralph Little as The Legend!

Jockice

Can I play the part of Stephen Pastel please? I'm Scottish, I'm fey and I have a shit haircut. The role was made for me.

kidsick5000

How honest do you think it will be? Especially about the cocaine hubris britpop years.

And will the Boo Radleys been painted as the villains?

the ouch cube

Lesley Rankine stomping around in her enormous Docs going "ah'm no intae all this Beach Boys shite"

The Culture Bunker

I'm not interested unless it covers the time he shared a flat in Brighton with Lawrence.

PaulTMA

Quote from: The Culture Bunker on July 03, 2019, 12:18:37 PM
I'm not interested unless it covers the time he shared a flat in Brighton with Lawrence.

Terry Bickers bingeing on curries or GTFO

holyzombiejesus

Can't see the NME link as I'm at work but is this currently being filmed? It should hopefully be really unintentionally funny. Any news on any other casting yet?

EDIT: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5693182/fullcredits/?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm

Thomas Turgoose as Dick Green! Rupert Everett! Paul Kaye (obviously).

SteveDave


wosl

#10
Would love this to give the likes of MBV and House Of Love and Slowdive their due and rightful coverage, but of course time/narrative constraints will make this Oasis/Primals-centric; everything leading up to Epochal Moments (JAMC smash up a club the size of a telephone box, drugs, Gillespie bangs a tambourine and says "Woo! Yeah!" while Throb necks a bottle of Wild Turkey, the Gallaghers arrive in a Beano cloud of dust and fists, new drugs, Screamadelica and ecstasy enlightenment, trying to kick drugs*).  Plus, if it's to have any connection with reality, McGee will have to be portrayed as the breathlessly righteous, histrionic bore he is/was, always raving about some "fucking amazing band, man" that quite a bit of the time turn out to be fucking not amazing, like Tony Wilson used to (although in Wilson's case, his considerable charm and self-deprecation offset this tendency and made him likeable).

* Edit: the chronology may be out

Dr Rock

In similar news I was surprised to see they've made a biopic of my old boss and al-round top fella Dave McLean of Riverman Promotions (handled Nirvana, Hole, loads of US alternative types in the 90s.) He's even written and directed it himself.  I may even be in it (played by someone else) as when i working for them it was just a five-man team including me and my then wifey.

https://www.heraldscotland.com/arts_ents/17735018.dave-mclean-on-his-new-movie-schemers/
QuoteWHEN he was a teenager Dave McLean was desperate to get a job with Michelin in Dundee. "They had really great uniforms," the now 63-year-old recalls. "It looked like you were working for a Formula One team."

McLean wasn't lucky in the end. His mate was and worked for the company for 41 years. McLean, instead, put on discos and then bands, mixed with pop stars and gangsters and travelled the world. He ended up manager of Placebo, based in Bangkok, and living the kind of storied life they make movies about.

In this case, he's the one making the movie. McLean has written, produced and directed Schemers, an account of his teenage years in Dundee as a rookie promoter, all mouth and ignorance, getting on the wrong side of big-name bands (most notably Iron Maiden) and local crooks and somehow coming out on top.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6107796/

Anyone here ever encountered Riverman or Dave?

Ballad of Ballard Berkley

Quote from: wosl on July 03, 2019, 04:22:10 PM
Would love this to give the likes of MBV and House Of Love and Slowdive their due and rightful coverage, but of course time/narrative constraints will make this Oasis/Primals-centric; everything leading up to Epochal Moments (JAMC smash up a club the size of a telephone box, drugs, Gillespie bangs a tambourine and says "Woo! Yeah!" while Throb necks a bottle of Wild Turkey, the Gallaghers arrive in a Beano cloud of dust and fists, new drugs, Screamadelica and ecstasy enlightenment, trying to kick drugs*).

This is almost certainly how the film will play out, although the interview linked to above suggests that Welsh has written an irreverent, heightened reality, semi-fictional version of events. So hopefully we will actually see the Gallaghers portrayed as comical Beano-like characters and not the ICONIC saviours of music, maaaaaaan.

Quote from: wosl on July 03, 2019, 04:22:10 PM
Plus, if it's to have any connection with reality, McGee will have to be portrayed as the breathlessly righteous, histrionic bore he is/was, always raving about some "fucking amazing band, man" that quite a bit of the time turn out to be fucking not amazing, like Tony Wilson used to (although in Wilson's case, his considerable charm and self-deprecation offset this tendency and made him likeable).

Well that's it. McGee is quite annoying and fairly dull, whereas Wilson oozed charisma and charm. If Welsh has any sense - does he have any sense? - he'll depict McGee as a slightly bewildered onlooker surrounded by far more interesting characters. Like, err, Bobby Gillespie.

I dunno. I suspect, at best, the film will be intentionally and unintentionally funny in roughly equal measure.


Ballad of Ballard Berkley

Quote from: kidsick5000 on July 03, 2019, 09:58:24 AM
And will the Boo Radleys been painted as the villains?

They should've got Bob Mortimer in to write it in the style of his Athletico Mince stories. That would be a film worth watching.

holyzombiejesus

I never found Wilson charming at all, always found him rather unctuous.

I reckon we can guess the scenes for this. Harsh, violent upbringing, father hitting him, probably a line like 'listening to that racket isn't going to get you anywhere'. Enter Bobby G and/ or Reids and possibly some Splash One type shenanigans  but only with properly cool music. Move to London, feels overwhelmed, Living Room. blah blah blah. There will DEFINITELY be a scene in a Hacienda type place where beforehand Alan is all grumpy about dance music but then has a damascene conversion which he then enthuses about in London. No Razorcuts though :(

I hope there's a scene with McGee saying how Creation are a Rock'n'roll label whilst showing footage of Emily or Apple Boutique.

The Culture Bunker

Quote from: PaulTMA on July 03, 2019, 01:24:17 PM
Terry Bickers bingeing on curries or GTFO
But I think we can all agree we don't need any scenes of a hammered Guy Chadwick getting his kit off at parties.

phantom_power

Why would The Boo Radleys be painted as villains?

mojo filters

Quote from: phantom_power on July 04, 2019, 10:50:25 AM
Why would The Boo Radleys be painted as villains?

Because Harper Lee portrayed Scout, Jem and Dill's interpretation of him that way.

Ballad of Ballard Berkley

An epic, eight-hour Netflix miniseries about the Scottish indie music scene of the late 70s, 80s and 90s would be amazing. And by 'amazing' I do of course mean 'Staggering that such a thing could even exist and hilarious for that very reason if nothing else'.

It would start with the likes of McGee and Alan Horne getting into the Pistols and the VU. It would end with Belle & Sebastian winning a Brit Award while an apoplectic Peter Waterman storms off to have a thunderous shit in the backstage bogs. Thing fucking writes itself.

Sebastian Cobb

I would love that. So much better than this thing will be, where Oasis is seen as the brilliant idea, rather than the beginning of the end.

Oh well there's always Chemikal Underground, eh?

Sebastian Cobb

Perhaps this is the biopic BBC Scotland need, STV productions could do it.

mojo filters

Quote from: Ballad of Ballard Berkley on July 04, 2019, 11:33:13 PM
An epic, eight-hour Netflix miniseries about the Scottish indie music scene of the late 70s, 80s and 90s would be amazing. And by 'amazing' I do of course mean 'Staggering that such a thing could even exist and hilarious for that very reason if nothing else'.

It would start with the likes of McGee and Alan Horne getting into the Pistols and the VU. It would end with Belle & Sebastian winning a Brit Award while an apoplectic Peter Waterman storms off to have a thunderous shit in the backstage bogs. Thing fucking writes itself.

That sounds great! I'd want plenty of B&S content though, especially Stuart David who was really insightful on the Pitchfork Sinister documentary.

Also a thorough account of what exactly happened up to and when the Reid brothers famously fell out on that American festival tour?

It would be interesting to see how David feels today. I know Sarah Martin went through a period of uncertainty when the band seemed to be doing well, but she had money and marital issues she was not shy of sharing.

As I recall, that was also around the time Mick Cooke left mid tour. That seemed to be on friendly terms, though he subsequently gave differing reasons for leaving - first to be with his young child, then due to a feeling of redundancy in the studio as software had advanced to the point where he was not needed to score parts for session musicians.

I know it'll not be a documentary, but someone really needs to ask the current band what the fuck is going on with the shitty new song just posted to YouTube? Serious fans have difficult questions!

non capisco

Quote from: Ballad of Ballard Berkley on July 03, 2019, 08:41:24 PM
They should've got Bob Mortimer in to write it in the style of his Athletico Mince stories. That would be a film worth watching.

THE FACE OF PETER ASTOR! THE FACE OF PETER ASTOR!

a duncandisorderly

Quote from: Ballad of Ballard Berkley on July 03, 2019, 08:38:24 PM
If Welsh has any sense - does he have any sense? - he'll depict McGee as a slightly bewildered onlooker surrounded by far more interesting characters. Like, err, Bobby Gillespie.


I don't think even paul kaye can persuade me to bother with this. unless at least forty percent of the screen-time is given over to MBV almost finishing the label off after the J&MC jumped ship, it'll be all about the fucking oasis, & they're just tedious reminders of what would've happened if a spent lennon had joined status quo.


Quote from: non capisco on July 05, 2019, 12:34:53 AM
THE FACE OF PETER ASTOR! THE FACE OF PETER ASTOR!

"god & other stories" is one of his, isn't it? I have a credit on that.

Rizla

Quote from: Dr Rock on July 03, 2019, 04:48:38 PM

Anyone here ever encountered Riverman or Dave?

Yes! I had a number of dealings with Alex at one point but i'm fucked if I can remember what they entailed. Would probably have been 2003/4 ish.

Kit from out of Danny Wilson's in that film? I know him, super chap. WTF. They'll be making a Bruce Findlay biopic next.

Jockice

Quote from: Dr Rock on July 03, 2019, 04:48:38 PM
In similar news I was surprised to see they've made a biopic of my old boss and al-round top fella Dave McLean of Riverman Promotions (handled Nirvana, Hole, loads of US alternative types in the 90s.) He's even written and directed it himself.  I may even be in it (played by someone else) as when i working for them it was just a five-man team including me and my then wifey.

https://www.heraldscotland.com/arts_ents/17735018.dave-mclean-on-his-new-movie-schemers/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6107796/

Anyone here ever encountered Riverman or Dave?

I do vaguely remember Riverman. However apart from a few (Mariella Frostrup was one!) I have difficulty remembering individual press officers etc. Was there a woman working at Riverman who looked a bit like Roseanne Barr (her description, not mine)? That sort of rings a bell. I met her at a concert by some American alternative band in the 90s. May be from a different company though.

poodlefaker

The key scene will be Alan deciding to start putting the singles in proper sleeves rather than those plastic bag things, and Joe Foster accusing him of selling out.

Jockice

If Meat Whiplash and One Lady Owner aren't featured I ain't watching it. And Kevin Rowland wearing a dress.

Dr Rock

Quote from: Jockice on July 05, 2019, 10:24:16 AM
I do vaguely remember Riverman. However apart from a few (Mariella Frostrup was one!) I have difficulty remembering individual press officers etc. Was there a woman working at Riverman who looked a bit like Roseanne Barr (her description, not mine)? That sort of rings a bell. I met her at a concert by some American alternative band in the 90s. May be from a different company though.

I left around 94, just as they were expanding and hiring more people, so this may have been after my time. Had no idea Mariella was involved with them. There was a fella who looked like Roseanne Barr who took over my job though.

Around the time of Brit-Pop I urged them to get involved with more British bands, but they were convinced it was a passing thing and American bands would dominate again. I hope that's a major scene in the movie.

Jockice

Quote from: Dr Rock on July 05, 2019, 11:36:10 AM
I left around 94, just as they were expanding and hiring more people, so this may have been after my time. Had no idea Mariella was involved with them. There was a fella who looked like Roseanne Barr who took over my job though.

Around the time of Brit-Pop I urged them to get involved with more British bands, but they were convinced it was a passing thing and American bands would dominate again. I hope that's a major scene in the movie.

Nah, definitely a woman. Mariella didn't work for them (as far as I know) but she was one of the few press people I can still remember from that time and one of very few who actually became famous afterwards. Along with Phill Jupitas (who worked at Go! Discs) and...er...Simon Dine, who later songwrote with and produced Paul Weller but then apparently fell out with him over royalties.

I'm Facebook friends with a few others but the press and press officers is usually a parasitical relationship. On both sides.