Stardust (2020) - Friggy Starburst and the Spy-Durrs from Marrs

[Ignatius_S]

I was surprised when I heard a few Michael Jackson songs in Finding Neverland. Does fair use extend to any documentary? No way the Jackson estate would have signed off on that.

Jackson's estate sold off its stake in the publishing company that own the rights. Slight tangent, but I watched one documentary about Jackson, which discussed his finances. It mentioned about the deal he struck to sell off a large chunk of his ownership in a lot of the songs he had the rights. This included The Beatles and with the estimated revenue this brings it, it was suggested that anyone selling off any of that ownership indicates that they have a serious cashflow problem.

re: fair use - this is a very debatable term, especially in the States.  Would say they got it signed off.  One of my friends in television was a researcher for a production company and said this could be quite tricky. I also went to a talk about a documentary series and the producer mentioned they tried to license a recording of a performance that the BBC made - they wanted to use a short excerpt and the amount quoted was something ridiculous and would have eaten up most of the budget's episode.

[beanheadmcginty]

It isn't a bad film, that. Apart from when he beats up Hayley Atwell with a phone and then stage invades Cream

"You guys say you love the blues, but don't know Killing Floor?!"

"Jimi, Jimi. It's Marvin. Your cousin, Marvin Hendrix!"

[George White]

that's a great film

Yes, but it's very much exception to the rule.
Pus they actually tried to capture the sound of the Beat Brothers, with the likes of Mike Mills, Dave Grohl and Henry Rollins doing vaguely Beatley rock and roll covers.

[dissolute ocelot]

Fuck, can't they just use the songs from Velvet Goldmine? That's how to make a Bowie film with no Bowie music, get Grant Lee Phillips and the husband of the woman from The Cardigans to write something.

[Bad Ambassador]

Isn't there that rule that ten seconds or less is permissible?

The Louis Theroux-Michael Jackson documentary uses instrumental covers of Jackson songs as its soundtrack.

[SteveDave]

From the NME review, it's nice that Doug Yule will be mentioned on the silver screen finally.

[Dropshadow]

Bear in mind, though, that the recent Queen and Elton John films used the real music.............

[Custard]

Currently 4.1 on IMDB

"Ashes to Oscars, says this critic!"

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Bear in mind, though, that the recent Queen and Elton John films used the real music.............

The Elton film is absolutely brilliant.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Johnny Flynn is the latest guest on Maron's WTF podcast. Straight away they start moaning about all the 'trolls' who mocked the Stardust trailer. Flynn is a nice guy, but I hate the way famous folk always dismiss valid criticism as trolling. People took the piss because the film looks like catshit.

[dissolute ocelot]

The AV Club's hatchet man Ignatiy Vishnevetsky has a very negative review which points out amongst other things how the film totally messes up the chronology of Bowie's life (mixing up Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust, and casting actors in their 50s and 60s as characters in their 20s), and also says Flynn and his band are awful.

I was hoping this would be essential viewing for fans of terrible pop culture, but it will lose even that if the music is shit pub quality and it's as dull and low-energy as it sounds. Rocket Man succeeded by matching all the bonkers stuff in all the best rock musicals and biopics (The Wall, Velvet Goldmine, Tommy, David Essex's Stardust, etc) yet somehow fashioning a coherent story with good acting, while having great music. Having all of those elements is very hard, but it sounds like Stardust doesn't have any.

[Icehaven]

They'd have been better off at least trying something like 8 Mile/That Thing You Do/Inside Llewelyn Davis and making a film about a Bowie-esque character but not about him directly. Although that could, and probably would, have been perfectly awful too, at least it'd have side-stepped the issue with the music, and they'd have had free reign with the plot while still drawing in audiences keen for anything Bowie related (instead of alienating them like this seems to be doing.) Or is Bowie too unique for that to work on any level, I dunno.

[Mister Six]

That's basically Velvet Goldmine.

[George White]

On the bright side, Geoffrey McGivern plays Dave's dad.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

That's basically Velvet Goldmine.

It is. That film, obvious flaws and all, is a heartfelt and rather moving paean to Bowie and Glam. It captures the spirit.

I'm watching Stardust now (it is 'available').

Spoiler alert

Within the first 20 minutes we are treated to a 'Marc Bolan' who looks more like Jerry Sadowitz, and two references to The Laughing Gnome being a smash novelty hit. It failed to chart when it was first released in 1967 and didn't become a hit until its re-release in 1973, two years after this film takes place. So that's the level of historical rigour we're dealing with here.

[close]

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

God, this is boring. Anyone hoping for an entertainingly bad film will be sorely disappointed, it's just so flat and clunky.

EDIT:

Spoiler alert

Actually, it's worth it for the scene in which Bowie mistakes Doug Yule for Lou Reed. An easy mistake to make in this version of events, as the actor playing Yule is wearing cool black shades and a leather jacket. The real Doug Yule looked like a college librarian.

[close]

[Custard]

Thing is, a proper biog, with all the tunes, in the vein of Bohemian Rhapsody or Rocket Man could be pretty great. Wonder why they haven't done it?

What would be the big orgasmic ending? I love that last album, but I don't think Larazus would send people home smiling

Maybe him blowing Ronson's guitar on Top Of The Pops? Or the "David is dead?" moment from Big Brother. Cut to our David on his million pound sofa, cackling

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

It should end with his triumphant cameo in Extras.

[Custard]

Ha, that'll do!

Btw, Friggy Starburst never fails to make me laff. Every single time

[Hand Solo]

Does it show him as a kid watching Anthony Newlay and thinking "I'm `avin' that!"

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Does it show him as a kid watching Anthony Newlay and thinking "I'm `avin' that!"

Sort of, yes. One of Newley's songs is quite prominent in the film, a thematic throughline if you will, but it's all so half-baked it never resonates.

[Hand Solo]

Sort of, yes. One of Newley's songs is quite prominent in the film, a thematic throughline if you will, but it's all so half-baked it never resonates.

Ah, so that's what they did to get around the lack of Bowie material, what else is on the soundtrack? Jacques Brel covers, or My Way would be an obvious one since Life On Mars is an intentional pastiche of it after the Even A Fool Learns To Love debacle.

Newley wrote some extremely famous songs I - and I suppose most people - had no idea he co-wrote, including Feeling Good, Goldfinger, What Kind Of Fool Am I?, and Candyman, Pure Imagination and the rest of the soundtrack of the Wonka movie.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Newley was great. As for the soundtrack, it is, as reported, just Flynn performing songs by Jacques Brel and The Yardbirds.

Flynn is actually okay in the film, it's not a bad performance, and Maron is fine too. But they're starring in a hollow, silly, cheapskate biopic, it's a total waste of time.

[Thomas]

Thing is, a proper biog, with all the tunes, in the vein of Bohemian Rhapsody or Rocket Man could be pretty great. Wonder why they haven't done it?

I was thinking about this the other day. An experimental, abstract sort of thing might be more interesting than a straightforward biopic.

Also, being so image-centric and unmistakable, Bowie was a very specific looking man - you can't bang a moustache or a pair of big glasses on a good actor and present a convincing Bowie. So get Tilda Swinton in for a weird, dreamy, nightmare, cocaine psychosis Lynchian musical.

[Hand Solo]

As for the soundtrack, it is, as reported, just Flynn performing songs by Jacques Brel and The Yardbirds.

I didn't know what they were doing for music, so just guessed it would be a few Brel covers and whatever else he was known to cover in that period. Wasn't Davy Jones with the Lower Third's output all R&B covers?

I was thinking about this the other day. An experimental, abstract sort of thing might be more interesting than a straightforward biopic.

A Bowie-fied Yellow Submarine?

[Icehaven]

I was thinking about this the other day. An experimental, abstract sort of thing might be more interesting than a straightforward biopic

A Bowie-fied Yellow Submarine?

Or I'm Not There

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

I was thinking about this the other day. An experimental, abstract sort of thing might be more interesting than a straightforward biopic.

Also, being so image-centric and unmistakable, Bowie was a very specific looking man - you can't bang a moustache or a pair of big glasses on a good actor and present a convincing Bowie. So get Tilda Swinton in for a weird, dreamy, nightmare, cocaine psychosis Lynchian musical.

Exactly, yes. Something along the lines of Todd Haynes' Dylan film. Bowie was an avant-garde pop star, telling his story in a bog-standard rock biopic way is futile. It misses the whole point of him completely.

Stardust makes a half-arsed attempt to do this at first -

Spoiler alert

Bowie arrives on Earth from space

[close]

- but it's a film written and directed by dullards.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Wasn't Davy Jones with the Lower Third's output all R&B covers?

Largely, yes, but the film mostly takes place during Bowie's 1971 visit to America. The mid-60s flashbacks are fleeting and domestic.

[Hand Solo]

Stardust makes a half-arsed attempt to do this at first -

Spoiler alert

Bowie arrives on Earth from space

[close]

- but it's a film written and directed by dullards.

Hmm..

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

That's the explicit reference, yes. It's not a subtle film.