LouReed Tagged Articles at Cinematical

One thing you should know about the Julian Schnabel-directed concert documentary Lou Reed's Berlin is that Lou Reed has personally instructed theaters to play the film at concert-level volume. That means it's really, really loud. When I saw it (at NYC's Film Forum, which is following Reed's command throughout the film's limited engagement), an elder woman walked out. Of course, I can't be sure that it was due to the sound, though the exit was during one of the loudest songs.

The volume may seem excessive and unnecessary to some, but at a time when concert docs are shown in IMAX and/or in 3-D, it really helps a film like Lou Reed's Berlin compete for audiences seeking a filmic experience comparable to the real thing. And leaving the theater with your ears ringing will help you think that you were actually there when Reed performed his 1973 album Berlin live for the first (and second, third and fourth) time in Brooklyn, New York, December 14-17, 2006.

The man behind both my beloved Basquiat and 2000's Before Night Falls has a few movies coming down the pike. Our James Rocchi already reviewed Julian Schnabel's Le Scaphandre et le Papillon, which comes out in December, from Cannes and said: "I staggered into the light awestruck, a little moved, my heart and mind both racing with the excitement and power of the film I'd just seen." With a review like that, it seems like enough, but that's not all! There's also another film on the way, and while it hasn't premiered yet, Variety reports that Fortissimo Films has already grabbed its international sales rights.

The movie is Berlin, and it's a concert film featuring Lou Reed. See, there's this concept album he released in 1973 called Berlin. While it was a commercial failure, it has since been hailed as a masterpiece -- yet Reed had never brought it to a live audience. Schnabel, however, had a hand in getting it out there -- he built the shows sets and recorded Reeds first forays in performing the songs live. Now, while Reed takes the show around the world, Schnabel's film is headed for both Venice and Toronto. There's no trailer out for the film yet, but if you're interested in Reed's live show, you can check out a clip here.

Just by watching the trailer for Factory Girl, I gathered that Hayden Christensen's character is supposed to represent Bob Dylan. He's got the voice, the look and the harmonica. Sure, the character has a different name, and the film's producers are insisting that it is actually a composite of Dylan, Mick Jagger and Jim Morrison, but as played and depicted, it is as obviously specific as it gets. The whole thing makes me think of Velvet Goldmine, which featured Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Ewan McGregor blatantly portraying David Bowie and Iggy Pop, respectively, without the film's use of real names. But that film had no intention of being passed as a true story, unlike Factory Girl, a biopic that otherwise represents real people by name. Velvet Goldmine also didn't implicate any of its characters as being responsible for a person's death.

Dylan is no idiot, and he isn't about to let a movie indirectly accuse him of being the cause of Edie Sedgwick's suicide. According to the NY Post's Page Six column, he's prepared to take legal action; lawyers have already begun proceedings by demanding they see the film before anymore screenings are held. Though the case isn't yet involving the courts, if Factory Girl producers Bob Yari and Holly Wiersma don't comply with the missive issued them, things might get ugly.

Dylan is reportedly very concerned about how the film will affect his image. And he should be. As if the trailer wasn't enough, it is being noted that people who've seen the film say that it is unmistakably Dylan being portrayed. Plus, there's the matter that the original script had the character named Bob Dylan before it was changed to the fictionalized "Billy Quinn" (or is it "Danny Quinn"?).

This legal matter adds to a very long list of controversy surrounding Factory Girl, including a lawsuit over distribution rights and a complaint from the literally depicted Lou Reed.


[via Hollywood Wiretap]

Is it just me or does it seem a little odd that in the trailer for Factory Girl, the film that was supposed to be Sienna Miller's big Oscar hope ends up being more about Guy Pearce as Andy Warhol? I really can't blame them considering Pearce's performance as the perpetually bored Warhol looks spot on. Pearce actually managed to make me a little more excited about the film. Most of the talk surrounding the movie has been gossip; Katie Holmes departure, lawsuits, and Millers hectic personal life, very little of it had anything to do with the film itself -- I'm sure Lou Reed's comment didn't help either.

Moviefone has finally premiered the trailer to the film, along with the poster. Edie Sedgwick was the daughter of a prominent family who dabbled in modeling and was taken into Warhol's Factory studio during the mid-sixties. She was a star in his films until the two had a nasty falling out -- if you believe the trailer, it was all Bob Dylan's fault. Sedgwick was one of the many casualties of The Factory and is usually remembered more for her premature death than anything she accomplished when she was alive -- well that, and that really lame song by The Cult. So take a look at the trailer and tell me if this is Sienna's big break -- or did she manage to let Warhol steal the show from Edie Sedgwick once again?