SF4-EVER
Dec 12, 2001, 04:57 AM
From E! Online:
Forget hobbits, wizards and Tom Cruise: The most coveted cameos of this year's holiday movie season belonged to the Beatles. Or at least their music.
Even before the recent passing of George Harrison, music from Liverpool's fabbest foursome was considered a must-have on several new movie soundtracks, including I Am Sam, starring Sean Penn, and Wes Anderson's new ensemble film, The Royal Tenenbaums.
Only problem is, the surviving Beatles are notoriously protective of their original recordings--especially when it comes to using them in movies. And while securing the rights to a Beatles song may not be difficult, getting the okay from Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono (on behalf of John Lennon) and the family of Harrison to use an original Beatles recording is darn near impossible.
Case in point: Anderson, with his movie due to hit theaters Friday in New York and L.A., won't be able to use the classic "Hey Jude" in the opening of The Royal Tenenbaums as he had planned, not to mention "I'm Looking Through You," which he had chosen for the final scene.
The soundtrack, due in stores December 18, will feature songs from the Velvet Underground, Nico, Elliott Smith and Nick Drake, among others. But FoxNews.com reports that Anderson will replace "Hey Jude" in the film with an instrumental version of the song by Mark Mothersbaugh (formerly of Devo), who worked on the film's score.
Likewise, the producers of I Am Sam also ran into trouble when trying to use original Beatles tunes for their film--even though the legendary group figures into the storyline. Sean Penn, who plays a mentally disabled father battling for custody of his 7-year-old daughter, refers to the Beatles in many of the scenes, and the movie's own tagline declares the Beatle mantra, "Love is all you need."
Producers originally wanted to use original Beatles songs throughout the entire film. McCartney and Ono reportedly both saw the film and liked it, but prior to Harrison's death, producers had trouble getting in contact with him, presumably because of his ongoing battle with cancer.
(Of course, there are other theories as to why Harrison never got back to producers regarding I Am Sam. The New York Post's Page Six suggests that the Quiet Beatle was still angry with Penn about the way he acted during production on Shanghai Surprise, a film that Harrison's Handmade Films had bankrolled.)
Whatever the reason, producers gave up after several attempts and opted to have other artists cover Beatles songs for the soundtrack. Sean Penn got a little help from his friends: Pearl Jam surfing buddy Eddie Vedder performed "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away," while the actor's own brother (Michael Penn) and sister-in-law (Aimee Mann) performed a rendition of "Two of Us." Ben Harper, the boyfriend of I Am Sam costar Laura Dern, contributed a version of "Strawberry Fields Forever," while artists such as Ben Folds, Rufus Wainwright, the Black Crowes and Grandaddy also pitched in.
So once again, the one group you won't find on the I Am Sam soundtrack is--that's right--the Beatles.
That means anyone actually searching for a song performed by a real Beatle may have to settle for Vanilla Sky. The new Cameron Crowe film features "Vanilla Sky," a new folk song written specifically for the movie by Paul McCartney.
Let it be, indeed.
------------------
Contributing Editor forRooftop Sessions (http://www.rooftopsessions.com)
www.sandraulbrich.com
Forget hobbits, wizards and Tom Cruise: The most coveted cameos of this year's holiday movie season belonged to the Beatles. Or at least their music.
Even before the recent passing of George Harrison, music from Liverpool's fabbest foursome was considered a must-have on several new movie soundtracks, including I Am Sam, starring Sean Penn, and Wes Anderson's new ensemble film, The Royal Tenenbaums.
Only problem is, the surviving Beatles are notoriously protective of their original recordings--especially when it comes to using them in movies. And while securing the rights to a Beatles song may not be difficult, getting the okay from Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono (on behalf of John Lennon) and the family of Harrison to use an original Beatles recording is darn near impossible.
Case in point: Anderson, with his movie due to hit theaters Friday in New York and L.A., won't be able to use the classic "Hey Jude" in the opening of The Royal Tenenbaums as he had planned, not to mention "I'm Looking Through You," which he had chosen for the final scene.
The soundtrack, due in stores December 18, will feature songs from the Velvet Underground, Nico, Elliott Smith and Nick Drake, among others. But FoxNews.com reports that Anderson will replace "Hey Jude" in the film with an instrumental version of the song by Mark Mothersbaugh (formerly of Devo), who worked on the film's score.
Likewise, the producers of I Am Sam also ran into trouble when trying to use original Beatles tunes for their film--even though the legendary group figures into the storyline. Sean Penn, who plays a mentally disabled father battling for custody of his 7-year-old daughter, refers to the Beatles in many of the scenes, and the movie's own tagline declares the Beatle mantra, "Love is all you need."
Producers originally wanted to use original Beatles songs throughout the entire film. McCartney and Ono reportedly both saw the film and liked it, but prior to Harrison's death, producers had trouble getting in contact with him, presumably because of his ongoing battle with cancer.
(Of course, there are other theories as to why Harrison never got back to producers regarding I Am Sam. The New York Post's Page Six suggests that the Quiet Beatle was still angry with Penn about the way he acted during production on Shanghai Surprise, a film that Harrison's Handmade Films had bankrolled.)
Whatever the reason, producers gave up after several attempts and opted to have other artists cover Beatles songs for the soundtrack. Sean Penn got a little help from his friends: Pearl Jam surfing buddy Eddie Vedder performed "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away," while the actor's own brother (Michael Penn) and sister-in-law (Aimee Mann) performed a rendition of "Two of Us." Ben Harper, the boyfriend of I Am Sam costar Laura Dern, contributed a version of "Strawberry Fields Forever," while artists such as Ben Folds, Rufus Wainwright, the Black Crowes and Grandaddy also pitched in.
So once again, the one group you won't find on the I Am Sam soundtrack is--that's right--the Beatles.
That means anyone actually searching for a song performed by a real Beatle may have to settle for Vanilla Sky. The new Cameron Crowe film features "Vanilla Sky," a new folk song written specifically for the movie by Paul McCartney.
Let it be, indeed.
------------------
Contributing Editor forRooftop Sessions (http://www.rooftopsessions.com)
www.sandraulbrich.com