Music industry figure Danny Fields – who knew Andy Warhol and the Velvet Underground – is a wry raconteur full of spit and vinegar in this engaging documentary
Danny Fields is one of those mysterious figures in the music industry you often see in black and white band photographs grinning away with his arms around the talent, too hip-looking to be a venue manager, too square to be a dealer. Turns out, he’s an interesting character, a wry raconteur full of spit and vinegar even now in his late 70s, who has had a varied music business career, and who was canny about keeping recordings of conversations , which enrich this documentary by Brendan Toller. A hyper-smart, gay, Jewish boy from Queens who studied law at Harvard, he became a music journalist and was the guy who reported in the Us that John Lennon had said the Beatles were bigger than Jesus.
Danny Fields is one of those mysterious figures in the music industry you often see in black and white band photographs grinning away with his arms around the talent, too hip-looking to be a venue manager, too square to be a dealer. Turns out, he’s an interesting character, a wry raconteur full of spit and vinegar even now in his late 70s, who has had a varied music business career, and who was canny about keeping recordings of conversations , which enrich this documentary by Brendan Toller. A hyper-smart, gay, Jewish boy from Queens who studied law at Harvard, he became a music journalist and was the guy who reported in the Us that John Lennon had said the Beatles were bigger than Jesus.
- 1/26/2017
- by Leslie Felperin
- The Guardian - Film News
Some people have a knack for putting themselves at the center of history. Daniel Fields was just a middle-class kid from Queens, but — during the second half of the 20th century — he discovered the Ramones, burned down the Beatles and seemingly had sex with every gay man at Harvard in the early 1960s. He was, to quote John Cameron Mitchell, “Handmaiden to the gods, midwife to some of the most important people in music.”
And Fields will be happy to tell you all about it, recounting his glory days with the bluntness of a grandfather recording his life story for posterity and the candidness of a 75-year-old man who’s remembering it for himself. So why, after 100 minutes of listening to him ramble on about everything he’s seen and everything he’s snorted, do we still have no idea what he actually did? Why, at the end of Brendan Toller...
And Fields will be happy to tell you all about it, recounting his glory days with the bluntness of a grandfather recording his life story for posterity and the candidness of a 75-year-old man who’s remembering it for himself. So why, after 100 minutes of listening to him ramble on about everything he’s seen and everything he’s snorted, do we still have no idea what he actually did? Why, at the end of Brendan Toller...
- 9/29/2016
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Danny says we gotta go Gotta go to Idaho But we can't go surfin' 'Cause it's 20 below Those words open The Ramones' song "Danny Says," from their woefully under appreciated Phil Spector produced 1980 album, End of the Century. That was what I knew of Danny Fields before seeing Brendan Toller's illuminating documentary Danny Says. The film traces Fields' roots back to his childhood in Queens, and follows his almost unbelievable journey alongside American pop culture in the late '60s and '70s as he shepherds one incredible movement after another into the limelight during a time in American history that would change everything. You name it, Danny was there, and he was crucial. Brendan Toller's film is more than just a bunch of talking...
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- 9/29/2016
- Screen Anarchy
Danny Fields is hailed as one of the most influential figures in the history of punk rock. He’s been a music manager, publicist, journalist and is known for signing Iggy and the Stoogies, MC5, managing the Ramones and working with various other rock legends.
Now his life is being chronicled in the new documentary “Danny Says,” directed by Brendan Toller. IndieWire has an exclusive clip from the film featuring iconic punk rock star Iggy Pop recalling a wild incident with his drummer Scott Asheton and Fields talking about not being able to “give it all up.”
Read More: ‘Danny Says’ Poster: Music Industry Legend Danny Fields Finally Gets the Documentary He Deserves
Playing a pivotal role in music history, Fields’ opinions and tastes were once deemed defiant and radical, but later turned out to be prescient. In “Danny Says,” fans will get to see Fields from Harvard Law dropout,...
Now his life is being chronicled in the new documentary “Danny Says,” directed by Brendan Toller. IndieWire has an exclusive clip from the film featuring iconic punk rock star Iggy Pop recalling a wild incident with his drummer Scott Asheton and Fields talking about not being able to “give it all up.”
Read More: ‘Danny Says’ Poster: Music Industry Legend Danny Fields Finally Gets the Documentary He Deserves
Playing a pivotal role in music history, Fields’ opinions and tastes were once deemed defiant and radical, but later turned out to be prescient. In “Danny Says,” fans will get to see Fields from Harvard Law dropout,...
- 9/28/2016
- by Liz Calvario
- Indiewire
Welcome back to the Weekend Warrior, your weekly look at the new movies hitting theaters this weekend, as well as other cool events and things to check out.
This Past Weekend:
While the new movies reigned at the box office this past weekend, both Antoine Fuqua’s The Magnificent Seven (Sony) and the animated Storks (Warner Bros.) didn’t fare nearly as well as our projections, both falling short by about $10 million. The Magnificent Seven, starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt, fared decently with $34.7million, which is about the average for Washington’s films, but the fourth highest opening for a Western after last year’s The Revenant, the animated Rango, and Cowboys and Aliens. Storks’ $21.3 million opening wasn’t great compared to other animated September releases with Sony still holding the September opening record with Hotel Transylvania 2, but it should continue to do well with no other animated movies opening for another month.
This Past Weekend:
While the new movies reigned at the box office this past weekend, both Antoine Fuqua’s The Magnificent Seven (Sony) and the animated Storks (Warner Bros.) didn’t fare nearly as well as our projections, both falling short by about $10 million. The Magnificent Seven, starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt, fared decently with $34.7million, which is about the average for Washington’s films, but the fourth highest opening for a Western after last year’s The Revenant, the animated Rango, and Cowboys and Aliens. Storks’ $21.3 million opening wasn’t great compared to other animated September releases with Sony still holding the September opening record with Hotel Transylvania 2, but it should continue to do well with no other animated movies opening for another month.
- 9/28/2016
- by Edward Douglas
- LRMonline.com
The music industry hasn’t traditionally earned much fame for its behind-the-scenes players—perhaps because the rock stars actually making the music are particularly difficult to outshine. Sure, the music biz has its share of names that don’t actually play instruments or produce records, but how many immediately spring to mind? Beatles manager Brian Epstein, maybe. Colonel Tom Parker. Interscope impresario Jimmy Iovine. But even those titans of the industry aren’t household names, or even close. Danny Fields, the subject of Danny Says—and of the Ramones song that gives the documentary its name—is several steps below those players on the fame ladder, though Brendan Toller’s film posits that he’s no less vital to the history of popular music.
To hear Fields tell it—and a lot of Danny Says features the man himself telling his own stories—he had great taste in forward-thinking music...
To hear Fields tell it—and a lot of Danny Says features the man himself telling his own stories—he had great taste in forward-thinking music...
- 9/28/2016
- by Josh Modell
- avclub.com
Danny Says, a new documentary about the career of one of rock's famous managers, Danny Fields, is set for release September 30th. In a new teaser, Alice Cooper spoke about Fields' business savvy. "Danny was in the middle of all of it, almost orchestrating," he said. "Those are the guys that are always in the wings, but they're always the most effective people."
Fields is most famous for being the manager of the Ramones and Iggy and the Stooges (immortalized in the Ramones tune "Danny Says"). But the documentary, directed by Brendan Toller,...
Fields is most famous for being the manager of the Ramones and Iggy and the Stooges (immortalized in the Ramones tune "Danny Says"). But the documentary, directed by Brendan Toller,...
- 9/22/2016
- Rollingstone.com
Prepare to meet Danny Fields. A music industry whiz kid who helped make punk rock, well, punk rock, Fields has lived a thousand lives since his rise in the ’60s. A music manager, publicist, journalist and author, Fields has done it all, even though he could have quite easily rested on certain career highlights like “signed and managed Iggy and the Stooges” or “signed the MC5” or “managed The Ramones” or “worked with Jim Morrison and The Velvet Underground.” And that’s just a taste of Fields’ wide-ranging career.
So what could possibly be next for Fields? How about his very own documentary? “Danny Says,” from filmmaker Brendan Toller, promises to deliver a full look at Fields’ live and legacy (as aided by the man himself), complete with something for both music industry veterans and newbies looking to see where it all began.
Read More: How ‘Miss Sharon Jones!’ Turns...
So what could possibly be next for Fields? How about his very own documentary? “Danny Says,” from filmmaker Brendan Toller, promises to deliver a full look at Fields’ live and legacy (as aided by the man himself), complete with something for both music industry veterans and newbies looking to see where it all began.
Read More: How ‘Miss Sharon Jones!’ Turns...
- 8/1/2016
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Art House Convergence, which hosts an annual conference during the Sundance Film Festival, is expanding the scope of its mission. Following on the annual success of Record Store Day, Ahc has announced that the first Art House Theater Day will take place on September 24. Participating theaters will offer exclusive programming, including sneak previews, repertory screenings, giveaways, filmmaker visits, live music and parties.
Read More: Art House Convergence Releases Open Letter Opposing Proposed ‘Screening Room’ Platform
“Art House Theater Day is a chance to show film-lovers that their local theaters are part of a larger cultural movement,” said Ahtd co-founder Gabriel Chicoine. “These cinemas are not passive, insular venues — they are passion-driven institutions that collaborate with distributors, filmmakers, and each other to deepen film appreciation and to increase the diversity and artistic integrity of what you see on the big screen.” Though the lion’s share of programming remains to be announced,...
Read More: Art House Convergence Releases Open Letter Opposing Proposed ‘Screening Room’ Platform
“Art House Theater Day is a chance to show film-lovers that their local theaters are part of a larger cultural movement,” said Ahtd co-founder Gabriel Chicoine. “These cinemas are not passive, insular venues — they are passion-driven institutions that collaborate with distributors, filmmakers, and each other to deepen film appreciation and to increase the diversity and artistic integrity of what you see on the big screen.” Though the lion’s share of programming remains to be announced,...
- 6/28/2016
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
Magnolia Pictures has acquired worldwide rights to Danny Says, a new documentary directed by Brendan Toller chronicling the iconic life and times of the influential punk and rock figure Danny Fields who worked for the Doors, Cream, Lou Reed, Nico, Judy Collins and later managed the likes of the Stooges, the MC5 and the Ramones (the docu title is from a Ramones song). A theatrical bow this year is planned. The film features candid commentary from Fields as well as Iggy…...
- 1/12/2016
- Deadline
Plus: The Little Prince to open Santa Barbara fest; former Screendaily head critic on Sundance jury; and more…
Miami Dade College’s Miami International Film Festival has struck a partnership with Google on a seminar series addressing gender and racial gaps in the film industry. Festival top brass additionally announced 21 features in the line-up, all of which are directed by women. The 33rd edition of the festival runs from March 4-13. Click here for the full roster.
The Us premiere of The Little Prince and Marguerite bookend the Santa Barbara International Film Festival presented by Ugg, set to run from February 3-13. The festival will present 52 world premieres and 53 Us premieres and the programme includes the Us premiere of Terrance Malick’s Knight Of Cups. For the full line-up of films and honourees click here.Sundance Institute has announced the festival juries featuring Edinburgh International Film Festival artistic director and former Screen International head critic Mark Adams on the...
Miami Dade College’s Miami International Film Festival has struck a partnership with Google on a seminar series addressing gender and racial gaps in the film industry. Festival top brass additionally announced 21 features in the line-up, all of which are directed by women. The 33rd edition of the festival runs from March 4-13. Click here for the full roster.
The Us premiere of The Little Prince and Marguerite bookend the Santa Barbara International Film Festival presented by Ugg, set to run from February 3-13. The festival will present 52 world premieres and 53 Us premieres and the programme includes the Us premiere of Terrance Malick’s Knight Of Cups. For the full line-up of films and honourees click here.Sundance Institute has announced the festival juries featuring Edinburgh International Film Festival artistic director and former Screen International head critic Mark Adams on the...
- 1/12/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Nothing fits the music documentary format quite so compellingly as a life cut tragically short. In addition to the ready-made dramatic arc, a subject who leaves this mortal coil before their time usually also leaves a certain amount of mystery in their wake, providing ample grist for filmmakers (and the folks they interview) to chew on.
Even when the hows and whys of an artist's tragic exit are a matter of uncontroversial record, questions of "What might have been?" inevitably linger over their prematurely truncated discography — in itself a far...
Even when the hows and whys of an artist's tragic exit are a matter of uncontroversial record, questions of "What might have been?" inevitably linger over their prematurely truncated discography — in itself a far...
- 12/31/2015
- Rollingstone.com
DVD Playhouse—May 2010
By
Allen Gardner
Avatar (20th Century Fox) James Cameron beat his own title as box office champ, set with Titanic over a decade ago, with this eye-popping sci-fi epic about a paraplegic Marine name Sully (Sam Worthington), who takes the form of an “avatar,” or virtual being, to go undercover on the planet Pandora, attempting to infiltrate the native Na’vi to gather intelligence that will aid a joint corporate and military operation to rape the planet of its natural resources, destroying its indigenous population in the process. When Sully suddenly “goes native,” he locks horns with the company CEO (Giovanni Ribisi) and his gung-ho commanding officer (Stephen Lang, in a wonderful, scenery-chewing turn from a long-underrated actor). Thought of by many scholars and film buffs as a “game-changer” as much as the first Star Wars film was—and they may be right. While Cameron’s politically-correct...
By
Allen Gardner
Avatar (20th Century Fox) James Cameron beat his own title as box office champ, set with Titanic over a decade ago, with this eye-popping sci-fi epic about a paraplegic Marine name Sully (Sam Worthington), who takes the form of an “avatar,” or virtual being, to go undercover on the planet Pandora, attempting to infiltrate the native Na’vi to gather intelligence that will aid a joint corporate and military operation to rape the planet of its natural resources, destroying its indigenous population in the process. When Sully suddenly “goes native,” he locks horns with the company CEO (Giovanni Ribisi) and his gung-ho commanding officer (Stephen Lang, in a wonderful, scenery-chewing turn from a long-underrated actor). Thought of by many scholars and film buffs as a “game-changer” as much as the first Star Wars film was—and they may be right. While Cameron’s politically-correct...
- 5/18/2010
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
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