Berry Gordy no longer owns the publishing to Motown songs and he is now 89 years old......Quote:
Originally Posted by reese
Printable View
Berry Gordy no longer owns the publishing to Motown songs and he is now 89 years old......Quote:
Originally Posted by reese
There will eventually be a film made on the Supremes. There really is not a lot left to hide. They were too big of a musical act to not have their story made into a theatrical film. I understand there are some people that have a problem with their story being put right up in their faces, but most of their story is already out there in the public. It is going to happen sooner or later.
He still has the power to sign off on what gets used. He sold off the catalog, but the buck still stops with him. Smart move on his part.Quote:
Originally Posted by marv2
Gordy look great and has incredible energy for being 89 years old. Good for him and I hope he keeps going. There's many at his age who are not as fortunate.
When he's dead, his opinion will mean little. I can imagine that the late, great Billie Holiday would not have been pleased by the portrayl of her life in the film "Lady Sings the Blues". I recall some of her relatives, ex husband highly disapproved of it.Quote:
Originally Posted by bradsupremes
The Dreamgirls movie was pretty cheesy. It was certainly about the Supremes -what with their 70s! ?? Album covers on the wall . Kind of weird. They made Diana and Flo into different people and changed history . Quite odd when you think about it. Did they do all that not to get sued or to please some people?
Wrong again. Her ex husband did NOT highly dissaprove of the film. Louis McKay probably kissed Berry Gordys butt for the way he was portrayed in the movie. Louis McKay beat Billie brutally and often. Hes real lucky Mr Gordy didnt show that although Louis McKay was a paid Technical advisor on LSTB and probably appreciated the cub scout portrayal of himself in the movie.Quote:
Originally Posted by marv2
Berry and Diana made a bigger star out of Billie Holiday in death than she ever was in life and made money for her estate in a way that wouldn’t happen today
Yuck - to feel forced to support wife beaters like Pedro and Louis!
I'd prefer to see a dramatised TV series about 'the rise and fall of Motown' than a movie about the Supremes. A Supremes movie would no doubt end with the credits rolling as the girls sing 'Someday We'll Be Together' in Diana's final concert with them.
A multiple-series TV show from the earliest days through to - say - Thelma Houston could show the interlocking stories for just about everyone with the dramas of racism, drugs, deaths, rivalries, jealousies and all the other rumours and scandals plus all those great songs.
But - it would need all those songs.
I don't know if anyone remembers, but back in 2001 or so, NBC announced they were doing an mini-series on Motown that was set for the 2004-2005 TV season. It must not have gotten far because I never heard anything after that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Levi Stubbs Tears
I think so, because Diana Ross was scared to death that they were going to present some truths that she went around to some television at the time and pretend joke that she may go see the movie with her lawyers LOL! The movie was even about her and the Beyonce character looked like a saint compare to how Diana Ross is in reality.Quote:
Originally Posted by luke
And Mary went on interviews playing the victim again on how she wasn't paid for the movie Dreamgirls. LOL!Quote:
Originally Posted by marv2
This is true. Pre-LSTB there were very few Holiday lps in print. Since the movie Lady's recordings have never been out of print.Quote:
Originally Posted by jobeterob
It's unfortunate but the fact is if Wilson does not mention the words 'Supremes', 'Diana', or 'Ross' the press & the public have zero interest.
Sorry, but that is simply not true. I have multiple Verve, Clef, Norgran, and Decca/MCA records from Billie Holiday in my collection, many that date from the period between her death and before Lady Sings the Blues. Decca aggressively re-released Billie’s catalog immediately after her death, as did Verve/MGM. The Billie Holiday Story was in print continuously between 1959 and 1985. I have every single print of TBHS and am happy to provide photos of the copyright dates when I get back to my collection.Quote:
Originally Posted by PeaceNHarmony
Nor is it true what Jobeterob wrote. Billie’s Carnegie Hall concert and book brought a very high level of notoriety to her work. Lady Sings the Blues was about making Diana Ross a star. It had little to no impact on Billie or her legacy. She stood on her own. And still does.
I don’t know much about Billie Holiday. Is the book you reference an autobiography? Thanks in advance.
https://www.amazon.com/Lady-Sings-Bl...s%2C203&sr=8-1Quote:
Originally Posted by detmotownguy
Thanxal. This is what they do when they cannot refute the truth with facts...........they LIE! I'm mean just make stuff up!Quote:
Originally Posted by thanxal
I'm with you Brad. The Dreamgirls movie really put the nail in the coffin for a Supremes movie IMO, because they even changed aspects of the play to become even more Supremes like. Also I think it would very difficult to get a film maker who would be willing to tell the girls' story without bias. Chances are we'd either get someone who was anti Ross or someone who is pro Ross [[cuz lets be real, Diana is the only reason anyone would jump at the chance to do this movie, motivated by love or hate) and neither type would bring justice to the story. A doc would allow for a more impartial story. Also there would be plenty of room to tell the whole story from beginning to end, including the 70s Supremes.Quote:
Originally Posted by bradsupremes
I get so annoyed that the ladies' story has been reduced to the negative. Mary was so concerned with selling books that she relied heavily on the negative moments while Diana was so concerned with doing the opposite of Mary that, with the exception of her childhood, we really didn't get much substance. I still want to know more about their recording experiences and performance experiences. Mary wrote a quick little paragraph in her first book about the Supremes performing in Bermuda in early 1964. I wanted to know more about that, like why were the Supremes- who didn't yet have a hit- chosen for this engagement? Were they paired up with anyone? It's hard to believe they were the headliner at the place where they were booked. And how rich of an experience must it have been for Flo, who used to live in the projects, and Mary and Diana, who were still living in the projects, to be in a place like Bermuda? That's crazy to think about. But it's the kind of stuff I'd rather learn than to watch a reenactment of Florence telling Diana to go to hell or vice versa.
Pots and kettles, Marv.Quote:
Originally Posted by marv2
Exactly. That should be the focus of a documentary - their career, their work. I would almost base a lot of it on the Expanded Edition timelines. Look at Ron Howard's Eight Days A Week documentary about the Beatles' last US tour. It received rave reviews. I know some people want the drama, but look at all those horrible music documentaries done in UK and here in the US that were all about Flo's firing and death. Enough of that stuff. No one comes out looking good. An honest documentary following their work and experiences would do wonders to a damaged image and may form a new found respect among the music industry.Quote:
Originally Posted by RanRan79
Quote:
Originally Posted by thanxal
Exactly! This is the World we live in today. If you do not like the truth, the real truth, you just make up your own "facts" and call everything else "fake news".
And youve done a real fine job of making up your own facts. Congratulations my dear.Quote:
Originally Posted by marv2
That was the point. Pots should not be calling kettles black.Quote:
Originally Posted by Roberta75
A documentary would be great. I loved Motown 40 as it was a documentary. The extended segments regarding the Supremes and Diana solo were so good. We always see Mary discuss Motown/ The Supremes, but to finally have Diana talk, added a whole new dimension.
And you can certainly speak from experience. You do this far better than anyone else. Well done on being honest for once.Quote:
Originally Posted by marv2
What three young black girls achieved in a racially divided country, where racial slurs and ignorance abounded is nothing short of phenomenal. Their experiences going through that time is what i would like to be the focus of a Supremes docu/movie were it ever to be made. Enough of the gloom and doom, what about the great music and the role models they became.
Lady Sings the Blues brought Billie Holiday back with a vengeance; my memory is she might have ended up with 5 or 6 titles on the Billboard 200.
It's not that she was a has been or a never was prior to Lady Sings the Blues, but it certainly caused her to trend in 1972, 73, 74 etc.
I agree. The movie brought a lot of attention to Billie Holliday. I know many people at the time looking to buy her records.Quote:
Originally Posted by jobeterob
I was only a kid when LSB came out and had never even heard of Billie Holiday. I gather that might be true for many people. I remember standing in the record department at Lechmere's and overhearing the conversation between two teenagers next to me. One was debating whether she should buy a Billie album. Her friend said "Who's that?" The other one answered "You know the one who Diana Ross played in the movie."Quote:
Originally Posted by vgalindo
It took a few years before I actually heard a Billie recording. To be honest, I wasn't all that impressed. But after reading her book and seeing some documentaries, I slowly began to appreciate her. Now LADY IN SATIN is one of my favorite albums.
I was only 9 when the movie came out so have no memory of it. I'm sure there are vast numbers of D.R and music fans who prior to the film had never heard of Billie so were curious as to what she sounded like. For some reason as a kid i expected her to sound like Diana Ross lol. It was a huge shock when as a teenager i first bought a Billie Holiday album to play in my bedroom. Like reece i have since come to appreciate Lady Days music.
I think the LSTB soundtrack is the best singing of Diana's career. She certainly silenced those film and music critics who did not think she had it in her.
Exactly. The Supremes became pioneers and trailblazers during a very turbulent era in American history. People who say times are tough now don't have any idea how tough it was in 1960s America and three young black women accomplished the "impossible dream". That would be a great thing and I like to see Diana, Mary, the estate of Florence Ballard [[mainly her daughters) and Berry Gordy come together for that if just for that part. When it comes to black music films, the drama gets more focused than the accomplishments.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ollie9
Ask the Temptations.
Superemes Movie here we go! Lights, Camera, Mary, Diana, Flo!Quote:
Originally Posted by midnightman
Right. It's more than a bit ... disingenuous ... to presume that LSTB had no positive effect on public awareness and sales-interest in Billie.Quote:
Originally Posted by jobeterob
Yeah, but honestly, isn’t it also a bit disingenuous to assert that Billie wasn’t anything until LSTB?Quote:
Originally Posted by PeaceNHarmony
Just trying to have a respectful disagreement...
Hi Thanxal, I read the Billie Holliday book u referred to me. With three Carnegie Hall sell outs, I’d have to say she certainly had the extra special something. A bit painful reading about her struggles. When I was a kid I remember my relatives discussing her music. She wasn’t just a corner bar lounge singer.
Gloom and doom and drama sell movie tickets. Even I wouldn't want to pay money to sit through a two hour dramatized movie of the Supremes' accomplishments. But a doc presents the opportunity for the full picture to be seen with a high degree of accuracy. And we the fans and the media I believe have played up the drama. Obviously there was some nasty stuff occurring, especially in 1967. Diana downplays it and even Florence was saying that much of the fighting was sisterly. That says to me that even when they hit lows, they had the ability to rebound with highs. But it's the lows in the relationship that 90 percent of people want to focus on for some reason.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ollie9
Yes, yes it is.Quote:
Originally Posted by thanxal
Hope I didn't suggest Billie Holiday was nothing until LSTB; doubt she'd have had a film made about her if she was nothing.
If I said that, it was just inappropriate phrasing.
maybe I misinterpretedQuote:
Originally Posted by jobeterob
Absolutely not. I think this would be a terrible idea. The Supremes' story does not need to be fictionalized and exploited any more than it has already. How do you even get a truthful story out? Everyone has a different twist on their story, everyone has a motive, and some people aren't alive anymore to make sure their side gets told correctly.