Preeminent music and film executive David Geffen is a macher with chutzpah and this is his story. He was raised in a blue collar Jewish family in Brooklyn, struggled in school due to dyslexia, had an adoring mother who called him "King David," and dreampt of life in Hollywood, a place he went to as soon as he was able. The interviews with David, artists whose careers he helped craft, and fellow mogels weave this documentary into a fascinating look at the music man's life. The soundtrack shows the wide reach of his accomplishments, notably Joni Mitchell's Free Man in Paris, she wrote while on a trip in Paris with David with Robbie and Dominique Robertson.
"I was a free man in Paris
I felt unfettered and alive
There was nobody calling me up for favors
And no one's future to decide
You know I'd go back there tomorrow
But for the work I've taken on
Stoking the star-maker machinery
Behind the popular song" ~ Joni Mitchell
"The word got around that there were these music-industry guys who were also human beings," says Jackson Browne. Browne, who sent sent Geffen a headshot and demo of Song For Adam, would know. David told his friend and fellow music agent Elliot Roberts, "This song will make you cry," about Song For Adam. He had that knack to find talent. When they weren't able to sign Jackson with an established record company, they formed Asylum Records in 1971 as a place for struggling artists to find shelter. Indeed, their stable of folk-rock singer-songwriters would hang out having a good time and getting stoned while David, an energetic opportunist who nurtured the careers and souls of his artists, remained clear headed as he worked his golden magic on the phone.
Geffen's story follows him from his early days in the mailroom at the William Morris Agency, (he lied about his schooling to get hired and then famously worked long hours in the mailroom until he could intercept and modify the letter that came from UCLA to show that he had attended and graduated), through his revolutionizing musical and film ventures. After he so devotedly nurtured Laura Nyro's career, putting her on the musical map by getting other musicans to cover her songs, she betrayed him by signing with Columbia records, not his label. He was heartbroken. He famously negotiated to get David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash out of their respective record deals at three different companies, so that they could fly together. He gained the trust of Yoko Ono by being a mensch, and signed John Lennon not long before Lennon was killed.
Let's see, what else? He was gay and fell in love with Cher, (I just read Val Kilmer's autobiography... does everyone fall in love with Cher?), he super managed a boatload of talent, sued Neil Young for being creative, (Neil was interviewed in this film), bought Jack Warner's mansion in Hollywood, made millions, made billions, was misdiagnosed with cancer in 1977 and retired. Found out he didn't have cancer and founded Geffen Records in 1980, DGC Records in 1990, and co-founded DreamWorks SKG in Q1994, a powerhouse movie studio with Steven Speilberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg.
Geffen gave a lot to the cause of AIDS/HIV, and more. He financially supported Bill Clinton early on but grew disillusioned when Clinton didn't live up to his promise to have gays accepted in the American armed forces and when Clinton did not pardon political prisioner Leonard Peltier. David then publicly came out against Hillary Clinton and threw his support beond Barack Obama.
I recommend this film for those of us lucky enough to have benefited from David Geffen's creative moxy, and for those who don't yet know of him. This film will remind you or introduce you to his marvelous cultural contributions. It's available now on Amazon Prime.