(Footsteps approaching)
(Drums beating)
(Cymbal crashing)
(Strumming guitar)
(Cymbal crashing)
Man: One, two... One, two, three, four.
(Instrumental music playing)
Man: Did you know there's actually only one groove on a record?
It's true.
Yeah. It looks like all these individual circles, but no, it's just one.
One single line, 1,500 feet of it, to be exact,
a third of a mile, carving its way round and round in circles until
it finally just ends.
To make a record, it takes 100 tons of pressure
applied under 1,000 degrees of heat,
all to create this perfect vinyl platter.
Now, what music goes on the record, well, that's where I come in.
I am a record man.
(Singing) He taught me how
to watch
fight and pray
whoo!
Fight and pray
sing it!
And we 're rejoicing
every day
every day...
That, right there... uh, that is why I'm here, Mr. Hawkins.
You got call-in requests breaking records,
lightning in a bottle,
yet no one east of here has ever heard it.
You've heard it, as did six other labels,
all making offers right now. Five other labels, Mr. Hawkins,
and you've only spoken to the head of one of them.
Now, give me this song and I promise you,
we will own radio.
I mean, a gospel-pop crossover?
No one's ever done that before!
This is why I'm here. This is what I do.
And I promise you right here in this church
before god,
there is just no one better.
No, no. You called me Mr. Hawkins, not reverend.
I'm not pretending there's not a line.
I am just respecting when to cross it.
Choir: (Singing) Oh happy day...
Now, do we want to talk in height or weight?
Because that right there is about four inches.
Hmm.
Yes?
Oh happy day... (Thumping)
Yes? Yes?
Oh happy day...
Oh, come on! Yes?
Yes, yes. Yes!
We will do an awful lot of god's work.
Oh, happy day.
Happy day. Whoo!
Oh happy day
Neil: (Singing) Singing oh happy day (thumping)
Oh happy day
oh happy, happy day
oh happy day
oh happy, happy day
oh happy day
whoo
oh happy day
Neil: Who told you that?
Buck? Cecil?
You talk to Hawkins himself?
Oh happy day sold over seven million records.
It even won us a grammy.
Hmm.
All right. The choir wasn't actually there when I arrived.
I didn't get up on the stage and perform the song. But you know what?
I could have.
Hell of a lot more fun to tell it that way, though.
(Sighs) You realize that that's gonna be the problem
with all these stories, right?
Listen. I'm not... I'm not saying that people are gonna be lying.
It's just... okay.
Well, some of them might be.
It's just that memories, memories are complicated, you know.
We remember what we wanna remember.
And we forget what we need to forget.
To be at the heart of something
as impossibly successful as what we had...
Gladys knight, the isley brothers,
bill withers, parliament, the village people, kiss,
and Donna...
How do you expect me to tell you how all that really happened?
Couple guys broke as we were,
to making over $100 million a year.
(Inaudible conversations) I mean, first, you'd have to understand our crew,
because... (Chuckles) There was just no one else ever like them.
Cecil was my best friend.
He was also a record executive who loved the artists and the music
even more than the business.
And the artists themselves... Oh, my god.
They sure loved him and trusted him, more than they ever trusted me.
Larry was a music fan long before he ever became an executive.
It was why he was so effective staying out on the road with the bands.
He was also my cousin, and all great business is family.
Buck had been a short-order cook before he married Nancy.
Our PR man, he was the connection guy
who could convince just about anyone to do just about anything. (Laughs)
And Nancy...
God. Every dj and radio program director just loved Nance.
She was our secret weapon,
getting our music on the air and into your lives.
She was also my wife's sister.
Beth was, uh...
Well, she was the first person who ever believed
my dreams could be more than just dreams.
She was the first one to ever truly believe in me.
And Joyce... (Chuckles)
You know, I may have met her as kiss's manager,
but, well, we'll get to Joyce.
Just... give me a little time. (Kisses)
Look, I know that we've been blamed for a lot of bad things that happened,
and I'm not saying it's not sex, drugs, and rock and roll,
because it was.
It's just, it was sex before it was deadly, you know?
And finding out who wasn't doing drugs would be
a hell of a lot harder story for you to tell.
But ifwhat you're after is the truth
of not just what happened but how it happened,
then, you know, you're just gonna have to believe all of it,
because every single bit of it was true.
Even the parts that weren't.
(Funk music playing)
Everybody everywhere...
Neil: Los Angeles. February 18, 1974.
There's a hell of a lot that comes before that night,
but the story you want to hear,
well, this is where it all really begins.
Having moved out to California only two months before,
we were throwing the biggest party Los Angeles had ever thrown,
to launch Casablanca records,
the biggest independent record label anyone had ever launched.
Absolutely. I am. Hit me.
Neil: And we only had one band to do it with,
and they were... well, they were, uh, different.
I think this was a mistake. We should not let them go on tonight.
Bill, it's gonna be great. Yeah, for who? Him or us?
Joey: Are you really gonna put those guys up there
wearing those stupid costumes and that stupid makeup?
It's who they are, Joe.
Nobody knows who they are yet.
You know, I got friends at Warner bros., and people are talking.
And they're not talking the way you want to hear.
You know what they're not talking about, Joey? Huh?
Shit that doesn't scare them.
Nelly, are you ready? Yeah. Or excite them!
Or make 'em want to dance, or laugh, or fuck, or cry,
or fucking matter at all.
Thank you, because the fact that people are talking,
that's music to my ears.
And you really spent all the three million dollars
warners gave you as an advance?
Actually, I spent four million.
Showtime, Neil.
Oh, sounds like they're playing my song.
Yeah, well, just remember, the house always wins, even against you.
You wanna bet? I bet they suck.
Uh-huh.
(Kisses)
(Crowd clapping)
Hello. So, lhad a thought
on my way over here tonight.
I thought to myself,
"what the hell am I doing in Humphrey bogart's actual suit?"
(Crowd laughs)
Poor kid from the Brooklyn projects, son of a postman.
Oh, stand up, pops. Pops.
There he is. Thank you. Thank you.
Sure. Take a bow. Why not? Learned everything from me.
Bad stuff from his mother. (Laughs)
Hell of a long trip from Brooklyn, huh?
Not so far, kid.
Dreams only come true for those who believe in them.
So, tonight, to celebrate the launch
of the biggest independent record label in history,
we thought we 'd share some of our dreams with you.
So, you may have heard them on the radio,
but after what you're about to experience tonight,
you're never gonna forget these guys.
So, put your two lips together
for the hottest band in the world, kiss!
(Rock music playing)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, that way.
Hello, Los Angeles! (G rowls)
How we feeling tonight? Nancy: Yeah, good. More.
(Men coughing)
(Singing) Well, the night's begun
and you want some fun
do you think you're gonna find it?
Think you're gonna find it
you got to treat yourself like number one
do you need to be reminded?
Need to be reminded?
It doesn't matter what you do or say
just forget the things that you've been told
(microphone feedback)
We can't do it any other way
e verybody's got to rock and roll
whoa, whoa
shout it, shout it
shout it out loud
yeah!
Shout it, shout it
shout it out loud...
Neil: You know, kiss may have been unlike anything anyone had ever seen,
but I could see them.
I could see it all.
(Inaudible)
(Faint whistles)
(Inaudible)
(Record crackling)
(Scattered coughing)
(Rock music playing)
Neil: The performance was great.
I just, uh, you know, forgot about the smoke.
(Scattered coughing continues)
And the fire alarm.
And the sprinklers.
(Singing) Shout it, shout it
shout it out loud (Crowd clamoring)
Man: Shit!
(Microphone feedback)
Shout it, shout it...
Woman: Guys, don't stop playing.
Shout it out loud
shout it, shout it
shout it out loud
(rock music continues playing) (Crowd clamoring)
Joey: You fucking kidding me?
All right. Guys. Guys. Guys.
I knew they were gonna suck.
Kiss my ass.
Man 1: It's not your fault, guys.
They don't understand art. Man 2: Just be careful around the water.
I fucking warned you! Man 2: Don't touch anything.
Neil! Man 2: Don't touch... don't electrocute...
Man 3: Paul, please. Nancy: Paul. Paul, come on.
Just like that, the night it all began,
we were finished.
You okay?
You made it rain inside, daddy.
Do another trick.
I'm working on it, honey.
I'll get Jill home to Beth and the boys.
Just tell her I'll be home soon.
But you promised we'd dance, daddy!
You bet I did.
Prettiest girl in all the world.
I had worked my whole life leading up to that night,
but kiss was dead the moment they took that stage.
The town just hated them.
(Gentle piano music playing)
About the time I got home to Beth,
even she had heard what a disaster it had been.
From the day I married her, she always knew the truth I was hiding.
She just didn't always admit it.
Hey, you okay?
Your sister tell you what happened tonight?
Yeah.
Neil: Even with everything that had happened along the way,
we 'd still always been better together.
(Jaunty piano music playing)
They, uh, say the biggest sin of a record man
is believing in something because you have to,
not because you do. (Scoffs)
But I had believed in kiss,
and I knew what Casablanca could be.
(Funk music playing)
But after the party, the town was already celebrating the death of Casablanca.
(Phones ringing)
Hello, Casablanca.
Neil: Not that that was gonna stop us.
Nancy: Mark parenteau, wabx! Kiss got added to regular rotation in Detroit.
Nance, you paid off Mark to do that, didn't you?
Of course I did. (Kisses)
Love this woman.
Mo ostin at warners needs you to call him back.
Of course he does. He called six times.
(Laughs) Of course he did.
Hey, cec!
Cecil: Hey. Bill called.
Gene and Paul are demanding a meeting.
Just tell them to get ready for the tour.
You got kiss a tour? Neil: No, but you're gonna do it.
Just find 'em a headliner that's not gonna be
intimidated by them as an opening act.
New artist from giorgio. He'll be expecting a yes.
Scotty! You listen to this yet? Cecil: Oh, yeah,
but they're giorgio, you know? They're different.
How different? After last night, too different.
Neil: Last night went exactly as we expected, and that includes the sprinklers.
All set. Cecil: Like he” it did.
(Disco music playing)
(Singing) I love to love you, baby...
N eil: Her voice just cut right through me.
You layin' so close to me
there's no place I'd rather you be
than with me here
ooh, llove to love you, baby...
Woman: Play that again.
I love to love you, baby
do it to me again and again...
Yeah. Get me giorgio.
He's ready for you, Mr. Moroder.
Sorry I missed it, your party.
I spoke to cess-ull.
Cee-sull. You have no money.
(Laughs sarcastically) Well, there's always money, giorgio, if you know where to find it.
Listen. Those new songs of yours were different.
The eighth and the sixteenth notes,
that open hi-hat on the down-beat.
(Beatboxing)
That's new. It makes you move. Hmm.
Where did you find that voice?
An American girl.
She does the musicals in Munich.
Ladonna gaines.
Gaines. Gaines.
Her first husband's name was sommer.
Everything is hotter in summer.
An Italian from Germany writing in English.
You know what? Maybe we pretend she's German.
I never could figure out his accent.
What? Neil, you can't afford to buy my music.
I may not have been at your party,
but I could read. Even English.
The party was to announce that we're open for business.
And now we're on the cover of everything.
Because they say you're finished.
That's 'cause they don't know what starting looks like, giorgio.
Now, I don't want your music for our label, okay?
I want it for yours. Oasis through Casablanca.
You let them write about that.
Giorgio, why don't we take a look at some artwork?
Cecil: Good old flash paper trick, huh?
Oh, Nelly, warners wants to bleed us to death.
I snuck a tape recorder into their little sales meeting.
They wanna kill kiss to kill us.
Receptionist: Hello, Casablanca.
Neil, I think you're overreacting.
So, you're telling me that Bruce did not tell your teams not to push our records?
Bruce, the boys have concerns about how we're handling Casablanca.
Actually, brucie, the boys here are concerned
that you might be a spineless little cocksucker.
Oh, yeah, that's also true. Well, we don't have
any actual proof about the cock-sucking.
Butwe all know, and no one here's gonna judge you, Bruce.
Fuck you, and fuck you! You see that, mo?
He's trying to fuck me. I don't blame you.
Bruce: Nobody gives a shit about kiss.
Were you not at the party? This ain't got a damn thing
to do about the party, and you know it.
Oh, you're right about that.
It's about the fact that they can't cut a radio hit.
Their bullshit stage tricks make them a fucking joke, not an act.
That's why their record's not selling.
I wanna play you a little something from our newest record.
You're an asshole, Bruce.
Mo, just take a listen. It's got a hell of a hook.
Bruce: (On recording) We don't promote kiss or any Casablanca records.
We don't push 'em, they can't sell 'em,
and that's how we end 'em. Fuckin' bleed 'em to death.
You fucking recorded me? Don't touch me.
(Bruce groans) (Glass breaking)
My wife got me that table. He fucking touched me, man.
What the fuck? This is fucking Warner Bros.,
not some fucking New York back alley you just crawled out of, assholes!
You messed with our business, Bruce, and nobody,
fucking nobody messes with our business, not even you, mo.
What the hell do you really want?
You didn't come all the way over here just to beat up Bruce.
I did.
We want out.
From our distribution? Fucking everything, all of it.
(Laughs)
You're broke.
The whole town knows it. What are you gonna do?
Go door to door across the country,
selling your records yourselves?
You'll never survive without us.
No. We'll never survive with you.
You're gonna remember this fucking meeting.
No, and... and not with a fucking smile.
So, bill me for your table and have a nice fucking day.
Hey. You do know no one's ever done this before?
Because no one's ever tried before.
Launching our own distribution, we weren't just going up against warners.
We were waging an all-out war against all the majors at once.
But if we were gonna survive, we absolutely needed a hit,
which meant we absolutely needed something new.
Ladonna Adrian gaines may have been born in Boston,
but her dreams had landed her in Germany,
which is where her story with us really begins.
You're late. I'm as early as I could be.
He's releasing the song in america, and I mean right away.
What? We haven't even recorded the real song yet.
It's just a demo. When I'm done with the mix,
no one will care.
(Scoffs) I'll care.
You gave him control over how I look?
He creates an image, a story. It's what he does.
Well, don't you think he should at least meet the real me
before he decides there needs to be a fake one created?
Ladonna, your daughter is asleep in the hallway
instead of a bedroom all her own,
dreaming a sweeter dream than you could ever provide her alone.
You will never get another chance like this.
Sign it.
They... they legally changed my name?
He changed his, too.
Neil: He was right. Lhad.
(Chuckles)
And not just once.
I was actually born Neil bogatz,
growing up in the Glenwood projects of Brooklyn, New York.
All right, Neil. What else do you want?
(Flips coin)
All of it.
By the time I was eight years old,
I already knew that the life that I wanted
was far, far away from here.
(Thumping)
(Groaning) I swear, I swear!
Please. I swear!
You hear that, kid? Your pops says he swears this time! (Laughs)
(Groans)
You dropped your egg cream.
We'll get you a refill.
(Grunting)
Are we poor, pop? What?
What you worried about? Huh?
Hey, money's easy.
You can always find money. A person's got to know what to do with it.
That's what counts.
(Exhales) Do you know what to do with it?
Because it's not here.
(Scoffs)
Do me a favor, boychik.
Look at all these people, huh?
Now, you got a choice. You can live in a full color world
or one in black and white, like all these schmucks
too terrified to dream of a world outside of our four shitty blocks.
Yeah. Not me.
I know what to do with it.
I'm gonna get us the hell out of here.
Hey. I promise you.
Just need a little more time. That's all.
Neil, you got all the machines going.
It saves my time, Mrs. Finklestein.
If I leave these with you, you'll put them in when you're done?
I'll give you five cents.
Ten cents.
Saves your time.
You better fold them.
Neil: Within a month, I had 40 kids working the neighborhood.
Here's how it's gonna go. I'm gonna assign...
Within two, I was bringing in more than my dad.
You know how it feels making more money than your father?
Exactly how you think it does.
(Instrumental music playing)
By 1961, lhad changed my name again to Neil Scott.
I tried acting, playing the piano, even the sax,
and while I always wanted to be a singer,
it was as a dancer that I finally found the beat.
(Crowd applauding) My fiancee, erminie mcnulty, everybody.
I am Neil Scott, your singer, your dance instructor,
and anything else you need me to be tonight. (Scattered laughter)
But that's not why I'm telling you this part.
(Blues music playing)
Dance.
Is that a statement, or a question
without the inflection at the end?
Dance with me.
We don't dance with the staff.
Our parents own the hotel.
Well, okay. Well, then I work for you.
From within, a dim light cast
two silhouettes on the shade
oh, what a lovely couple
they made
put his arms around your waist
held you tight
kisses I could almost taste
in the night
wondered why I'm not the guy...
Where did you learn to dance like this?
I couldn't hide...
My father.
The tears in my eyes
silhouettes, silhouettes silhouettes, silhouettes...
So, you met your lawyer yet?
Your doctor?
Whoever your parents have already set up for you?
They'll never be able to compete.
(Scoffs) With you?
With you.
All this really the life that you want?
When you're all alone and nobody's watching...
Lights are out...
Just about to fall asleep...
What do you dream?
Dreams are for children.
You don't really believe that.
Someone just told you you did.
(Scatting)
What do you dream of, Neil?
Tonight, I'm gonna dream about how it feels dancing with you right now.
Loved you like I never loved
you, my sweet
vowed that you and I would be
two silhouettes on the shade
all of our days
two silhouettes on the shade
silhouettes, silhouettes silhouettes, silhouettes
two silhouettes
Neil: With Beth, lfinally felt everything was possible.
All we had to decide was which dream came next.
(Pop music playing over headphones)
No. The second verse still needs to be pop-ier, right up into the break.
(Singing) Licorice...
And then, boom! That, that is when they will swoon.
Who's gonna swoon? The girls, Mr. Darnell,
the ones actually buying the records.
The girls buy records after the first take, Neil.
Trust me. Let's just do it again.
Iknom/pninghtaboutths. How?
Because I can hear it!
Can't you? Come on!
So, Murray the 'k' does a monthly competition.
He pits one new single against another.
The one that comes out on top, he spins it till the grooves wear out.
Well, okay. So, when do we start?
Next month. This month, it's against Elvis.
Neil. What? Bill, I know the contest.
The... the call-in votes can only be local, right?
We can beat him! No, you can't.
Yes, we can!
It's against Elvis!
Presley, Neil.
(Rock music playing)
Murray the 'k': The votes are in! The game is won... yes!
And the hot new kid from Brooklyn just beat Elvis Presley!
We beat Elvis. We beat Elvis!
Oh, my god! Neil!
(Singing) My baby's kisses taste like candy
every time that her lips touch mine
I don't want to stop
oh, we can dream
about our sundae
when I see my sugar
down at the candy shop
(all cheering)
She's the cherry on top
my life was bittersweet
before her
she's the cherry on top
she floats my ice cream
when she smiles
she's the cherry on top
I'm crazy for her lips
bright red like licorice
okay. So, where do we dream from here?
Murray the 'k': This is Murray the 'k, ' wins,
where Neil Scott is the name you're gonna wanna remember!
(Wooly bully playing)
N eil: As Neil Scott, I'd recorded two more songs for portrait records.
But we'd made cherry on top a hit, it never made me one.
One-hit wonder. Well, you know that story.
Anyway, after a short stint as soft porn actor Wayne Stewart,
which there's really no need to get into now,
I'd become Wayne Roberts, freelancing for fortune employment.
You know, getting other people jobs.
When mgm records called
looking for someone to run record promotions
and well, fuck me if! Didn't know just the guy.
His name?
Beth: You changed our names?
After Humphrey bogart?
"Here's lookin' at us, kid."
Us? Does that mean I get a say in this?
Yeah, of course. You get a say in everything. We'll take a vote.
Did you really change our names?
You got to write down your vote. You know, who do you wanna be?
(Scoffs)
I want to be me. (Laughs)
Okay. Well, you got to... You gonna vote or not?
You got to do the vote. You got to do the vote.
Ready? Come on. Come on.
Oh. Bogatz. Bogafl. Bogafl!
I win! I get two votes! Why? Why?
I get two votes, because I voted on that, too!
Come on. Come on.
It's finally the record business again, for real this time.
For real this time?
Yeah. For real.
And what do we change after our names, huh? Huh?
Everything.
Listen. You put this on the side. Neil. Neil...
How many... you put it up here.
You got a big yellow sign... I put what I want in my window!
Saying, "come look at my merchandise!"
I put what I want in my window!
Come on. It's a great song. Neil, you just keep trying, okay, buddy?
One week. One week. I take it down after one week.
Then we put a new one up. What are you gonna do for me?
You're asking him to advertise your records.
No. I'm asking him to put a couple posters up in the window.
It's not the same thing.
It's exactly the same thing, except you're asking him to do it for free.
Well, you know, mgm won't pay for local advertising.
Who says you have to call it advertising?
Mgm won't pay for anything.
Who says it has to come from them, huh?
Wooly bully
wooly bully
I already voted. No.
Wooly bully
watch it now, watch it
and this is what comes next.
You got it, you got it
yeah
you're moving up in the world, Neil.
Neil: Iwasn't running promotions for a year before I was running it all.
No. I...
(Chuckles) I'm running mgm records,
and I didn't even finish high school.
Matty told hatty
and there's not a single person who ever did finish high school
that could possibly be better at running mgm records.
I'll teach you.
Wooly bully
wooly bully
I know what comes next.
Wooly bully
watch it now, watch it
here it come
you got it, you got it
this is what I dreamt of.
The night you asked me when we first met?
This was my dream.
(Rock music playing)
Yummy, yummy, yummy I got love in my tummy
Neil: Buddah records, 1650 Broadway, in the brill.
(Elevator dings)
Other than what we'd create later at Casablanca,
no more infamous address in the music business ever existed.
Ooh, love to hold you
ooh, love to kiss you
we 'd built the kind of independent record company
that no one had ever seen before.
The artists worked with us, not for us.
They were family, and that made all the difference.
Neil.
He'll see us.
Man: Still holding for buck.
(Rudolph grunting)
Hey, man. What the fuck you doing?
Rudolph: What the fuck it look like, black?
Trying to open the fucking window.
You're the ones making a lot of noise downstairs,
that buddah records. Yeah.
Big music needs big speakers, Ron.
Big music needs big dollars, Neil. Black dollars.
Green dollars, my man. It's the only color that matters.
Maybe to you.
So, cec tells me you recorded something new.
I want it. You ain't even heard it yet.
Well, you're the fucking isley brothers.
So, if motown is too busy to make you a priority,
then Berry gordy can go to the record stores
and buy your fucking music like everybody else.
Plus, you know that we move product better than anyone.
We know y'all be paying motherfuckin' DJs to play the records you tell them to.
We don't get pimped out. You dig?
Because we are the motherfuckin' isleys.
Goddamn right.
But you got to be out your mind.
You going head-to-head with Berry gordy himself.
Well, it is called show business.
So, why don't you play me the song that we're releasing
off of your own new label?
Mm-hmm. Our own new label?
That's what you're offering us?
Neil: Well, that's yourthing, right?
It's a black thing. A black label.
Careful, motherfucker.
You talk a good talk, but there's a line.
I'm sorry. I thought you didn't believe in lines.
You played him the motherfucking record, didn't you?
Because he wouldn't even be acting like this if he ain't heard the shit.
(Neil laughing)
Isangitforhhn. Dontbeang torne, man.
It's a hot fucking song, Ron. The man had to hear it.
Do me a favor. Why don't you scoot on over, Ronnie?
Who the fuck you calling... this motherfucker just called me Ronnie.
You don't know him like that.
Don't be callin' the man Ronnie. Just a term of endearment.
Do I look like a motherfucking Ronnie to you?
As a matter of fact, yeah, you look exactly like a fuckin' Ronnie.
(Chuckles)
You're a crazy motherfucker. You got some balls, man.
Let me show you a few ideas I've been hearing in your music.
Now, you got ideas to my fucking music?
Yeah.
Show me what you got, Neil.
(Rock music playing)
That dirty guitar?
No, no. You got to turn that shit up. That nasty brass. Oh.
You tell me that each punch isn't meant to cut Berry gordy
right through the fucking gut.
You're a dangerous man, ain't you?
No, man. I'm just the guy who knows that you are,
and you fucking should be.
But knockout punches, they gotta come clean, be relentless,
and never stop until the body hits the fucking floor!
(Rock music continues playing)
(Exhales)
Now, that's a hit.
Motherfucker.
Hey. What's up?
(All laughing)
(Indistinct chatter)
What's going on, brother?
Man: Ron isley!
What's up, motherfucker?
It's your thing
do what you want to do
(whoops)
I can't tell you who to sock it to
said it's your thing, girl
do what you want to do
said I can't tell you
who to sock it to
Ron wasn't completely wrong about us and the DJs.
Now, you may have heard of this as something called payola, but to us,
mm, it was just another day at the office.
You need love now just as bad as I do
oh, makes no difference now
who you give your thing to
oh, it's your thing...
Neil: Frankie Crocker was one of the most influential DJs
in the business, which is saying a lot,
since he was one of the only black DJs white audiences ever accepted.
Said it's your thing, girl
said it's your thing, girl
oh, baby...
Neil: The thing no one ever really got about payola
is that we never paid anyone to play records they didn't wanna play.
Ron, you got my damn table pregnant.
But did we spread a little love to get our records a little more attention?
What do you think?
The records were spinning as fast as we were.
The hits just kept coming. There was nothing that could stop us.
They bought the company? These fucking guys?
Viewlex. They make film projector lenses.
Which means they know absolutely fucking nothing
about the music business.
(Folk music playing)
One toke over the line...
Singing about Jesus again. Really?
I think you're missing the subtext.
Cecil: You wanna sell this as gospel?
It says "sweet Mary."
What the hell do you think they're singing about?
I know exactly what they're singing about,
and so do you. Sweet Mary.
Beth: Cash and airplanes again?
Hey. Neil: Hello, boys!
Damon: Where do you think you're going with all that cash?
To make more of it, Darren. I'm Darren. He's Damon.
Oh, shit. Sorry. Did I do that?
I'm just excited about Jesus and Mary.
It's... it's a druggie song!
Did hejust call it a druggie song?
You cannot buy this record!
I made over a million dollars for your bosses last month.
How much did you make them?
That my mama said
(gong sounds)
If I should choose to make a part of me
would surely strike me dead (Inaudible)
And now I'm one toke over the line...
Neil: Buddah records became one of the most successful
independent labels there ever was. Stop!
Every single bet we 'd made, we 'd been right.
But every gambler knows you don't cash your ticket
until your horse actually crosses the line.
Al: Hey, hey. There he is.
Why we meeting here? You want a tip or something?
(Laughs)
Look at that.
You see the one called, uh, ghost train?
Al: Yeah. Don't know him.
(Indistinct commentary)
She's mine, pop. I just bought her.
Yeah. You know, people bet on her.
That means they're betting on me.
Wow. Well, you're always in a rush.
And now you got a horse to prove it.
Why don't you come in with me? Hmm?
We can be partners.
Partners on a horse?
Yeah, sure.
No. I... I don't know anything about feeding and training
and all that bullshit at my age.
Nah. You go ahead. I, uh, I got my own things going on.
It's going great. You sure?
'Cause when you called, it was... no, I mean,
I got a cash flow situation.
Temporary. You know, it's nothing.
The bookies I got, they're saying it's, like, five.
Closer to 10, you know, but it's...
They're talking out of their asses.
I'll clear it up. It's nothing.
I'll get it back to you, all of it.
I just need a little time. I know, pop.
Hey, I'm not worried.
Why would you? Swinging for the trees, right, boychik?
You got the... got the horse,
and your singers, and the big-time life. (Laughs)
Look at you. What you got to worry about?
Hey, I got to go to work, so, uh...
Sonny, some nuts on the house, this guy.
Yeah. It... don't spend it all.
(Indistinct commentary continues)
(Buzzer sounds)
(Crowd cheering)
Cookie told me about Cecil's raise.
Must be a hell of a thing, changing someone's whole life like that.
Hmm.
Your mom says you must have helped your dad again. He bought all-new clothes.
Everybody's counting on you, Neil, but you still keep going up
against those guys at viewlex, but you do work for them.
What do you see? I'm being serious.
No, no. This, this is our daughter's view of the world.
She sees the ceiling, not the sky.
Most people grow up in the same four blocks that they were born into
because they can't even dare to dream what's beyond them.
You're quoting your father now. That's dangerous.
No. No. What's dangerous is
the day we stop dreaming these walls away.
And ifwhat's beyond them still isn't enough for you?
(R&B music playing)
Ooh child things are gonna get easier
ooh child things 'ii get brighter
ooh child things are gonna get easier...
Beth.
Beth wasn't wrong.
Beth.
She just didn't realize how right she was.
Truth is, neither did I.
I just never saw her coming.
Woman: Neil, no one told me you were here yet.
Uh, this is my partner, bill.
Why don't we talk business first?
Well, this is business first.
I'm Joyce biawitz.
Direction plus. Nice name. Yeah. I'm the plus, and bill directs.
And Joyce does pretty much everything else.
She writes, produces.
Commercials, mostly, but only up until now.
That's not what we invited you down here to talk about.
Right. Your... variety show.
No, it's not a variety show.
No. It will be unlike anything anyone's ever tried before.
Really?
I'm sorry. What am I missing?
Everything.
We're ready for you, Mr. Aucoin. Yeah. One sec.
So, we're here in a...
You're gonna shoot your show in a recording studio?
That's right. Somebody's finally gonna
make a music show that actually sounds like music.
She practice that line for me?
Yes.
I'm gonna... I'm going to go check on the crew.
Here. Give this to them. Yep.
So, now that he's gone, you're gonna close me?
I'm not here to close you. I'm here to convince you.
You didn't become who you are without seeing what most people don't.
Hmm.
People love their music.
It's not just what they listen to. It's who they are.
It's personal.
We don't wanna just play music on TV.
We wanna show where it really comes from,
why the hell it matters so much to us.
Even ifjust for a song.
Well, shit. You're gonna do all that in a show?
I am sure as hell gonna try. (Bothlaugh)
And who the hell are you?
Ineedto, uh_.
I need to get back to this.
But I really do hope you will consider it. It would mean a lot.
To you?
To everyone who watches.
Neil: Every great artist has someone who believes in them,
but every once in a while,
it's the believer who's the most gifted artist of all.
I had never met anyone like her.
You know how you know when you're about to do something really reckless,
when you can't think about doing anything else?
(Muffled) Come and work for me.
(Muffled) What?
Come work for me!
(In normal voice) I'm not gonna work for you!
(Muffled) Iwork for me, with bill.
Okay. Well, then come work with me...
(Imperceptible)
.I'm...
(Door opens, closes)
Listen. Here's the deal. I can't stop thinking about you.
Well, try harder.
You don't even know me, Neil.
I'm just some broke chick from queens.
Well, that's just about the last thing you are.
(Instrumental rock music playing)
(Chuckles)
It's small. I know.
I grew up in smaller.
Yeah, but you got out.
Yeah. I still am getting out.
And when I looked at you...
Give me one of your artists for my show.
I am offering you more than that.
And I'm not buying. What I'm selling is the show.
I've done my research, Neil.
You clearly like to gamble.
I like to win.
What happens when you don't?
Then I just keep gambling unfilldo.
Joyce: You have a family, Neil.
Yeah. I know it's complicated.
But hey, my life outside that door is my problem.
It's not yours.
We both know that's not true.
Joyce: You're married. Yeah.
It doesn't change the way I'm feeling right now.
It's just...
Different.
Neil: Is there anything I should know, uh,
about something going on between you and bill?
Bill's gay. He plays straight to protect me.
From people like me.
From people exactly like you.
Neil: It's like you remind me of someone.
Who?
You don't wanna bet on the show? Fine.
Place the bet on me.
Much intuition
but before you wreck
your old home
be certain of the new
dadgummit girl
who is he?
"Kiss.
The demo. That demo tape over there.
Kiss. It's a good name.
You really wanna talk business right now?
You really expect me to climb up there?
If you want to sleep with me, you are.
Neil: I know whatyou're thinking, but I'd never met anyone like her.
And I know I said that about Beth, too,
but it's only because it's true.
I was honestly in love with both of them.
Falling in love with Joyce,
for the first time in my life I finally felt like me.
Withers: (Singing) Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
it's not warm when she's away
ain't no sunshine when she's gone
she's always gone too long
any time she goes away
I wonder this time where she's gone
wonder if she's gone to stay...
Kid works in a airplane factory installing toilet seats,
and yet he could dig deep enough to write this.
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
she's always gone too long
any time she goes away...
What are you thinking?
That we can make him matter.
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
only darkness every day
Neil: Mr. Bill withers.
Shit, Neil.
I see why you're bringing the hit, huh?
Thank you, Mr. Crocker.
Neil: You know, I can remember watching my dad as a kid,
thinking, "here's a guy who's taking risks with all our lives,
"just never ones big enough to actually change our lives."
And I know, lknow, lknow lknow, lknow, lknow
lknow, lknow, lknow
I ought to leave those young things alone
ain't no sunshine when she's gone
Neil: I am gonna win
bigger than anyone has ever done before.
Or else I'm gonna fail.
It's ending up lost somewhere in the middle
that I just, I can't live with.
Any time she goes away
bill withers was born in the small coal-mining town
of slab fork, West Virginia, with a stutter. (Chuckles)
Did not stop him from becoming the bill withers that we all remember.
Signing him before motown could
changed everything for buddah.
Shit. Changed everything for me.
(Instrumental music playing) (Crowd cheering)
Withers: (Singing) Lean on me
when you're not strong
and I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on
for it won't be long...
There he is. Here.
With money in your pocket, you're fucking wise,
you're fucking handsome, and you sing better, too.
Old Jewish proverb?
It's a new one for me.
Be careful, kid.
Oh, not in this life, Joey.
That you won't let show
you just call on me, brother
when you need a hand
we all need somebody to lean on...
Big fuckin' problem.
Oh, shit.
Cecil: Manny, what the hell? Really?
Your boy's on trial, motherfucker!
Hey, you're really gonna cross this line over us signing bill withers?
Withers, Hawkins, fucking isley brothers!
And you got the nerve to come to our convention
and try to steal our music?
Manny, is this a black thing?
Buck. I'm-a kill you last, buck,
so you got time to think about it.
Andre.
Manny, just put the gun away, man! Come on!
Easy, easy. Easy, easy! Sorry, cec!
You backed the wrong colored horse.
I got my orders.
Orders? Somebody actually put out a fucking hit on us?
Manny, who did this? Was it gordy?
Let's just say you crossed one too many fucking lines.
Cecil: Manny!
You are gonna need to make a phone call.
True story.
Ask big Joey.
You just called the Italian mob to tell the black mob not to kill us?
You had a better idea? (Laughs)
Nance, you know you can't tell Beth about this.
Not about any of it.
I know, Nelly.
Buck: Thank you.
Y'all need Jesus.
Call me
if you need a friend
call me
oh, just call me
call me
you okay?
How was Miami?
Uh, it's complicated.
Not sure which question you just answered.
Coffee's in the kitchen.
Beth. Beth!
You can't go after gordy yourself, man.
The man fight dirty.
He gonna come after your life.
Now, you know 110 percent I got your back.
Mm-hmm.
But we don't have to fight this war.
There's no need. We good.
Are you fucking kidding me?
You're talking about not starting a war
with the man who just showed his black chest to fucking white america?
(Laughs)
It's almost like they don't realize
that the black voice is coming from a black man.
Say, could you imagine dreaming of something your whole life,
finally getting on that stage,
thousands of screaming fans...
Singing every single lyric to every single song,
loving the music, but hating the color of my skin?
What kind of dream is that, man?
I don't know, man.
I know where I come from.
Shit. I can't forget it.
I'm just trying to figure out
how to change where we're going.
Shit. We still talking about music?
You're always talking about music.
That's the weapon.
Oh, man.
You got lucky, kid.
I could've been on the other line
when your friend from Miami called.
Played the odds.
Yeah, well, motown was gonna sign
the withers kid, and you knew it.
It's just business. Not with Berry gordy.
Yeah. Look. A gambler's a gambler,
and you're a gambler, kid,
but you're risking everything with those fuckin' suits
who're just waiting for any excuse to bring you down.
If you're gonna bet this big, bet on yourself,
or keep away from the fucking table
before too many people get hurt.
All right. All right.
Big Joey was right.
We 'd taken buddah records as far as we could go.
If we were ever gonna really matter, we were gonna have to raise the stakes,
higher than ever before.
(Exhales)
(Inaudible)
Man: Let's go.
Whoo!
What have you told her?
Cecm: That you've gone insane. (Laughs)
We're really gonna steal Gladys knight from motown, too?
You're the one that told me she's pissed off that gordy is giving
all their best stuff to Diana, and Marvin, and the temptations.
Yeah, she is. She is. All right.
So let's swing for the fences, cec.
One last big hit.
What do you mean, one last big hit?
Well, I've always kind of dreamed of owning my own record company.
Didn't you?
Neil.
Midnight plane to Houston? My people from Georgia.
They would never take a plane to Houston.
I'm-a have to change that.
I... I'll let him know.
(Neil clears throat)
Mrs. Gladys knight, this is Mr. Neil...
Neil bogart.
I have definitely heard of you.
Well, only good things, I hope. (Bothlaugh)
I heard you got something special.
Listen. If Berry finds out about this...
Hey, if motown was treating you properly,
you wouldn't be here.
No. You wouldn't be here.
Hmm.
Do you mind?
Go ahead.
(Clears throat)
Let's see. Midnight plane to Houston.
All right. Here we go.
(Gentle piano music playing)
(Singing) L.A...
Okay.
Proved too much for the man
So he's leaving the life mm-hmm.
Both: He's come to know...
(Humming)
You love your tracks lush, don't you?
All the time. (Both laugh)
Ah. Well, we'll add a full horn section, keyboards, a wurlitzer.
Has anyone ever told you no?
Always been a bigger fan of yes.
(Bothlaugh)
I can't believe I'm singing with Gladys knight.
Let's keep going. Yeah? Yeah.
World...
I like that. Wait, wait, wait.
My world
his world
our world mine and his alone
I've got to go his world
I've got to go her world
his and hers alone
I've got to go our world
that works!
I've got to go...
Let's sing the chorus. What do you think?
Yeah, but I have to change that line.
It has to say Georgia because... Georgia.
Houston is not working for me.
Who wants to go to Houston? Let's go to Georgia.
Give me some peaches. Here we go.
How you feeling tonight?
(Cheering)
(Humming)
(Singing) L.A.
Proved too much for the man...
Hey, guys.
Making me feel your pain. Makes me feel that ache.
So he's leaving a life
he's come to know
(vocalizing)
Chorus: He said he's going
say he's going back
going back to find
ooh, what's left of his world
on that midnight train to Georgia...
Oh, I love that.
As long as it says "Georgia," I'm good.
Oh, my god.
This is good. That's beautiful. That's just the best.
He's leaving
leaving
on that midnight train to Georgia
leaving on a midnight train
ooh lord
say he's going back
I've got to go I've got to go
a simpler place and time
oh, yes he is...
What does a train sound like? (Imitates train horn)
(Imitates train horn) Okay. The pips can do that in Harmony.
Neil: Yeah... both: Ooh-ooh
I 'd rather live in his world
chorus: Live in his world
than live without him in mine
chorus: Her world is his
his and hers alone
You resigned from buddah?
Ifwe're ever gonna do something that truly matters,
it's gonna have to be on our own.
In California?
Cecil just called.
Everyone's going? Okay. Not everyone.
Larry's never leaving New York,
but Cecil, yeah, buck, Nancy.
And Beth?
And Beth.
Don't look away.
Hey.
Don't turn away.
How long have you been planning this?
Since I was eight.
(Inhales deeply)
Okay. So this comes next.
(Kisses)
Beth: You're not even gonna look back?
Oh, I have already seen it.
Gladys: (Singing) Lknow he's leaving
yeah chorus: Leaving
on that midnight train to Georgia
leaving on the midnight train
hey
said he's going back to find
chorus: Going back to find
ooh, a simpler place and time
oh, yes, he is
and I'm gonna be with him
chorus: Lknow you will
on that midnight train to Georgia
chorus: Leaving on a midnight train
oh, yeah, yeah
I 'd rather live in his world
chorus: Live in his world
Gladys: Than be without him in mine
chorus: Her world is his
his and hers alone
Neil: Come on!
Boy: A pool?
(Screaming) It's a pool!
(All laughing)
(Whooping)
You couldn't find a bigger house?
Just close your eyes and jump.
And dream ahthese walls away?
Hey, can't you see?
There are no walls here.
Come on, mama!
Neil: And we all lived happily ever after, right?
Well... it's complicated.
I'd been betting on what I believed in my whole life.
Al: I promise you.
Beth: So, where do we dream from here?
(Both vocalizing)
Kiss!
And every bet we'd made back at buddah had paid off,
but Casablanca, kiss, and now Donna...
So far, we 'd lost every hand.
(Cash register dings)
No, no, it's dance music, right?
There is no other voice like her.
It's worse than we thought. What?
Donna's not selling anywhere?
No one knows what to make of her.
R&B doesn't want her. Pop doesn't get her.
She's just... different.
The song's dead, man. You were wrong about the gaines girl.
It's summer, okay? It's Donna summer.
Well, you were wrong about her, too, man.
(Grunts) Hello.
By 1975, we'd done everything we could think of
to introduce Donna to the world.
Right in my heart.
The world just didn't care.
You said that he loved the song,
that he was so sure that it would change everything.
The song is over, ladonna.
I was wrong.
Just because the audience doesn't hear it does not mean it isn't there.
Sometimes, it just takes time.
But we were out of that, too.
Bill: Neil, don't do this. Hey, you called me, bill.
To talk, not so that you could do whatever you're gonna do.
This came from Steven Tyler himself.
Said if we don't cut the pyro and get a smaller sound
and lighting rig, we gotta pack it up and go home.
He is the headliner, so. Bill, you have to trust us.
Well, I thought we were the us.
We're their managers, Joyce, you and me.
Neil, I'm begging you, please don't gamble on this.
Buck: We should have parked closer.
Neil: And sometimes,
they hear it even when they don't know it.
(Rock music playing)
Hey, Mr. Aerosmith!
What kind of rock and roll pussy are you?
(Singing) You show us everything you've got
you keep on dancing and the room gets hot
you drive us wild
we'll drive you crazy
you say you want to go for a spin
the party's just begun
we 'ii let you in
you drive us wild
we'll drive you crazy
come on!
You keep on shouting you keep on shouting
come on!
I want to rock and roll
all night
and party every day
I want to rock and roll all night
and party every day
I want to rock and roll all night
and party every day
I want to rock and roll all night
and party every day
they love them when they see them.
So why the hell can't we get them to buy their records?
You drive us wild
we'll drive you crazy
you keep on shouting...
I just...
You keep on shouting...
I need... I need more time.
I want to rock and roll all night
and party every day
I want to rock and roll all night
and party every day
(Music ends)
(Grunts)
You lost us an aerosmith tour.
(Sighs) The tour was already lost, gene.
Aerosmith doesn't want you anywhere near them. All right?
No headliner does. Your...
Your show scares the hell out of everyone.
So you want us to scale everything down,
cutthe pyro and the lights? No. No. No.
If you're gonna be a headliner,
we're gonna need to make everything all that much bigger.
That means more explosions and so much, so much louder.
I have this guy, all right? He's got these risers that...
You really think that more fire and some forklifts
are going to be what finally breaks us through?
No. It is gonna be the music,
and it was always gonna be the music, but we might
just make enough noise to get enough people
to actually listen to it, to pay attention.
Why did you sign us?
Our demo was good, not great. Even I can admit that.
You had to know how hard this was gonna be. Why take the risk?
Because your real name is Chaim witz,
and you moved here from Israel when you were eight years old,
speaking nothing but yiddish.
Because Paul's real name is Stanley eisen.
Because two kids from queens
had dreams about being the next gods of rock.
And little Neil bogatz from the Brooklyn projects
thinks he can make everybody's dreams come true...
If he's just given a little more time.
You know, your demo really was that great, gene.
Yeah. Raw and honest rock and roll,
even without all the costumes.
But I'll tell you what your real brilliance is,
and I don't even think you know this.
It's that you write every single one of your songs
with the same four goddamn chords.
That means that any, any 14-year-old kid can go out there and buy a guitar,
and within 20 minutes, they can be you!
And that matters, gene.
That is who you are.
Now, why did you sign with me, huh?
Brand-new label, with you as our only act.
You had to know you were taking as much of a risk as we were.
Because you never should have gotten out of the Brooklyn projects.
And yet, here you are.
Here we are.
Two imposters.
Only if we're wrong.
(Sighs)
I get that you like to gamble,
but what if Joey was right?
In the end, what if the house does always win?
Well, then we raise the stakes so high that we become the house.
(Kisses)
Two hundred grand more.
You're still upside down the last hundred.
Why don't you make it a personal loan, then?
Don't do this. You go upside down this big,
it don't matter how much I fucking love you.
Hey, you ever gambled yourself, Joey?
That thumping in your chest right before that dealer turns over your next card?
Anything is possible right before that moment.
Neil, I'm telling you,
I'm not gonna be here for you this time if you don't pay off.
Are you gonna give me the money or not? No.
Two hundred? Two hundred.
I know it's bad.
I just wish you would be honest and tell me how bad.
It's... it's fine.
No. It's not fine. We're not fine.
None of this isfine, new
we were fine when we were on the floor of our home
in New Jersey, when I was teaching you even how to read those books.
And now we are broke, and you are giving the guys bonuses!
Hey. No. Did your sister tell you that buck was the only one that took it?
Maybe he was the only one smart enough to.
(Sighing) God... hey. Hey.
Come on.
Just dance with me.
(Chuckles)
(Sighs)
You stopped dreaming again.
You did.
You know what I dream of?
It's that you're actually here with us, Neil,
and not in New York, or Las Vegas,
or wherever else you disappear to
when you're too afraid I'll see the truth.
What do you think the truth is?
Beth, I love you. Come on. I'm always with you.
You, the kids,
you're all I think about.
You have to know she's going to end up just as hurt as me.
I convinced myself forsolong that it was okay
when I knew that you were sharing your bed, Neil,
but you are sharing your heart.
Tell me I'm wrong.
It's complicated.
It's not.
It's really simple.
(Funk music playing)
You've got a real type of thing going down
getting down
there's a whole lot of rhythm going round...
George: You want a little bit more or you good?
What?
George: Yeah, yeah. You good?
I'm fucking great.
Oh, there he is. There he is.
Is that what you gave me? That's it right there. Uh-huh.
Hey, what up, Neil? Look at the space in here...
I can't even feel my lungs anymore.
George: Now it's a party.
George, George, George, ifwe're gonna sign you,
you cannot be your own opening act, all right?
You are parliament and funkadelic. It's confusing.
George: Only on some planets, man.
See, that's why I need a motherfucking spaceship,
so we can leave this earth.
When the mothership gets built,
the connection between earth and the galaxy
is gonna be made, and everything will be clear.
I'm trying to tell you, it'll make sense. You'll see.
How quickly can you out us this new record?
How quick can you build me a motherfucking spaceship?
How much?
A million motherfucking dollars.
Would those be earth dollars?
I can't even feel my bones anymore. (Laughs)
He's giving me space...
George: I know what you need to do, Neil.
It's party time. Yeah?
It's time to fly. I'm gonna need you to hop on this ride with me.
Neil: If buck can handle it, so can I.
You in or you out?
Neil: Ldidn't start the heavier drugs
because of what was going on between Beth and Joyce.
Didn't start them because of what was going wrong
with kiss, and Donna, and Casablanca.
I just...
I did them because I like...
I liked how it made me feel.
George: Why don't you take a ride with me, Neil?
All right. Let's go, Neil. It's on you. Okay.
You ready to go? Buck: Do it.
George: You ready to build us a spaceship, Neil?
Fuck it. (Sniffs)
George: You look like you like it. I think he likes it.
Let's build you a motherfucking spaceship.
That's what I'm talkin' about.
Liftoff. Let's go.
We need the funk
we got to have that funk
we want the funk
give up the funk
we need the funk
we got to have that funk (Sniffs)
We want the funk
this mother
give up the funk
we need the funk
this mother
we got to have that funk
we want the funk
this mother
give up the funk
(funk music playing)
(Crowd cheering)
Well, all right
partying on the mothership
I am the mothership connection
if you hear any noise
it's just me and the boys
hit me...
Hit it, fellas.
Swing down, sweet chariot
stop and let me ride
swing down, sweet chariot
stop and let me ride
swing down, sweet chariot
stop and let me ride
swing down, sweet chariot
stop and let me ride
Neil: That million dollars actually went a long way.
And not just for the mothership.
George bought two new tour buses and new cars for everyone in the band.
Everyone, 28 of them.
George: We had rolls-royces, Mercedes benz,
jaguars, six sevilles.
Everybody got a car, except for me, motherfucker.
I needed a spaceship, because I don't drive.
Let me ride
swing down, sweet chariot...
They pioneered almost every genre that came after them.
They just spent more money than they ever made,
and the money just kept bleeding.
(Soft guitar music playing)
That's really beautiful. I love that.
Thanks. They've been making fun of me.
They don't think it sounds like kiss.
Oh, no. Hey. Hey. Not those.
Those are... those are the empty shells, right?
Hide them somewhere in the back. Wait. Empty?
Yeah. Those are empty?
Yeah. They might just make you look as big as you sound.
You know, now you're beginning to sound just like him.
Bill, is he... is he serious?
Guys... (Stuttering) Give us five.
It's a bullshit trick. Bill.
Okay? It's a mirage.
And it sure as hell isn't rock and roll, and... and...
And I wish any of that mattered right now,
but it just doesn't.
Nobody's buying our records.
No one's coming to see us play.
And if an empty speaker cabinet tricks people into thinking
that we sound better, because we sound louder...
If this is what it finally takes
so that everybody else feels the way we do...
What I think is,
we do what we have to to survive.
It's just another part of the show,
like the costumes, the... the makeup.
Gene: No.
It's not.
It's a lie.
About the music.
We've never lied about the music.
Paul: Hey, uh, why don't you...
Why don't you sing that song?
The one that you said you liked it.
You liked it, right? Sing it. Sing it for him.
He thinks he's got our next single.
(Strumming guitar)
Peter: (Singing) Beth, I hear you calling
but I can't come home right now
me and the boys are playing
and we just can't find the sound
(bothlaugh)
Just a few more hours
and I'll be right home to you
I think I hear them calling
oh, Beth, what can I do?
Beth, what can I do?
Paul: What's the matter?
It's not the radio hit you were hoping for?
Paul!
I will drop you right off on that fucking street corner in queens.
Paul: You can't.
We're all you got.
The song was not supposed to be Beth, okay?
Peter wrote it for his wife. He'll change it back.
We'll change it, Neil.
No. No. Hmm. No, we won't.
"Beth" just has a better...
I don't know, it's just got a better ring to it.
Okay. Dontyoutmnk?
I think I finally got the lights the way you want 'em.
What'd I miss?
(Snickers)
You know...
You guys are just a couple of fucking children playing dress-up.
Paul: Where you going? Come on.
He bet everything on you!
No, no, no, no. He bet everything on him!
We just happen to be the cards he was dealt!
You say you feel so empty
thatourhouse just ain't a home
I'm always somewhere else
and you're always there alone
just a few more hours
and I'll be right home to you
I think I hear them calling
oh, Beth, what can I do?
Beth, what can I do?
Beth, I know you're lonely
I know I'll be all right
'cause me and the boys will be playing
all night
(Music stops)
(Neil sniffing)
(Grunts)
Hey. (Clears throat) Hey.
You look like shit.
(Laughs) You get in okay? Limo was waiting?
Yeah, yeah. Like movie stars. Your mother loved it.
Okay. How much you need this time?
You got to talk to me like that? I'm your father.
You think that's why we flew in? I wanted to see how my son's doing,
if he's okay.
What do you need, pop?
It's for your mother, okay? For the foster home. She's going nuts.
I don't know, like, 10 or something.
You make it harder than getting money from loan sharks.
(Laughs) It's just fucking money.
What is it you always say? Uh, you just got to know where to find it.
Like at the card tables?
I heard things, Neil.
What are you doing, huh?
Oh, you know, just still trying to escape those four goddamn blocks! (Laughs)
Vvhatthefucks the matter with you? Hey! Fuck!
I raised you to be smart!
How you gonna be smart shoving that shit up yournose?
Come on! I'm talking to you!
How you gonna know when you're hot, when to bet big, when to fold?
You can't even decide who you want in your fucking bed!
I have everything under control.
Doesn't look that way.
You've lost the music, kiddo.
(Sniffs) Hey. You understand?
Is there anything else you need?
Hey, you don't think you could have made it
using your real name?
Bogart is my real name.
(Lighter clicks)
Sure.
Tell me what I'm supposed to do.
Just keep dancing, Neil.
Always was the one thing you were best at.
I did always love the way you moved.
No. Just... I'm... I'm asking you.
Just tell me what I'm supposed to do.
Go and say goodbye to your kids.
That's what you're supposed to do.
You're breaking my heart.
Hurts like hell, doesn't it?
She won't even put them on the phone.
My kids.
I don't know how to stand up.
I'm just... I'm sitting here, and I don't...
I don't know how to get up.
(Breath trembling)
Hey, you can almost see Brooklyn from here.
(Phone ringing)
This is bullshit. There isn't a thing that you've asked for that I haven't given you.
You know exactly how expensive it is to keep you on tour and in the studio!
Let's seriously talk about releasing Beth.
No! We're not releasing that shit. No.
Cross us over into mainstream radio.
It's not who we are. Nobody knows who you are,
which is why you're not making any fucking money!
Isn't that your job? Huh? To get them to know? And yours?
Or is that not the kinda pillow talk you two like to talk?
Bill: Jesus, Paul. What?
I'm just saying what everyone's thinking.
Joyce: No. Let him say it. It's just the truth.
You're our manager,
and you are fucking the president of our record company.
You're right. That is the truth,
which you didn't seem to mind when you asked me
to give him your demo.
You didn't mind either, bill,
when you begged me to convince Neil to sign us,
even though Warner Bros. Begged him not to.
Or when you asked me to get us on tour, Paul,
and keep us on tour.
You were all just fine asking me to roll over on my pillow
and talk to the president of your record company then.
Yes. I am your manager,
and you know just how lucky you are that I am,
because if I wasn't, you'd still be trying to figure out
how to wear your mom's makeup, 'causeltaughtyou how to do that, too.
Who I love is my business.
Your business is to make the damn music.
Thatsyourjob! Start doing it. No, no, no.
It doesn't matter how we got here. This is real.
This is happening. This is happening right fucking now.
Tell them, bill.
You really want us to be the hottest band in the world?
He better start paying us like we already are.
There he is.
There he is, folks,
Chaim witz, the demon of rock and roll.
You want some real money, gene?
You want some real money?
Well, then you go out there and you write us a fucking song
that will actually make us some!
Bill: No, no, no. Wow!
No, no, no, no, no. Fuck you.
You don't make it about them. Not this time.
Joyce: Bill. Uh-uh. I am sorry.
We are renegotiating right now, or we're leaving.
Bill.
Okay. Okay.
How much?
A million dollars an album.
And another million in tour support.
(Laughs) You want two million dollars an album
for a band that can't sell a fucking single?
I want two million dollars an album for kiss.
Bill.
Okay. Fucking fine. Deal.
We finished?
Paul: It's just business.
It's nothing personal.
Of course it is, and you fucking know it.
Paul: It's okay.
(Sniffs)
Male announcer: And now, ladies and gentlemen,
here's Johnny!
Carson: Here he is, Lenny Bruce himself!
Maybe you should slow down a little.
Maybe you should speed up a lot.
Hey! I love Lenny Bruce.
Did you know that he was 40 when he died?
You think it was worth it, dying so young but then having all that success?
No. I think dying old and having all that success
would be worth it.
You promised our distributors a sure thing
so they'll keep letting us ride on everything else.
(Clicks tongue) Well, it's Johnny Carson. It is a sure thing.
Besides, a bet is only a bet if it matters.
(Kisses)
Lenny: It's the wedding night, and you're both virgins. It's disgusting.
(Audience laughing)
Abe, Abe...
You don't mean that. No, because it's me, Abe.
Because you've always trusted...
Cecil: Talk to me. They're not waiting for Carson.
Cecil: What?
They're returning all the unsold kiss albums,
and Donna, and parliament. Everything.
That's too many fucking records. No shit, buck.
What do we do? We take 'em back,
but you tell every single fucking one of them
if they do, they don't get Carson!
Neil. Neil!
What?
What if we were wrong about Carson?
I mean, we're shipping gold. More.
Over 750,000 copies already.
And with the money we're spending on commercials and print ads...
It's Johnny fucking Carson!
And nobody understands why the hell we're even doing it!
Then ship more!
Spend more! Do your job and make them understand!
This is gonna be the biggest fucking album of the year, okay, folks?
You've lost your mind.
Did you not hear what they said on the phone?
And they're on our fucking side!
Nobody is on our fucking side.
Because nobody understands what the fuck you're doing anymore!
Not even me!
We were wrong about kiss, Neil,
and we were wrong about Donna.
Even George and his fucking spaceship.
We were just wrong!
And here we are, still betting money we don't even have on them!
I can't even pay my...
If we're wrong about Carson...
We are not fucking wrong, cec,
not about any of them.
We just haven't figured out a way to finally be right!
What the hell's happening?
I dared question the postman's son from Brooklyn,
and he didn't like what he heard.
Oh, is that right, cec?
Is that the same postman's son been carrying your ass
from nowhere to somewhere your whole fucking career?
Excuse me? Tell me this.
Did you believe we could make it this far?
Be honest. Do you believe that we could actually go further?
So you do your fucking job,
and I will go get the fucking money!
He didn't mean that.
Cec. Shit.
Male announcer: And now, ladies and gentlemen,
here's Johnny!
Neil: The Carson album's still considered
one of the biggest disasters ever conceived in the record business.
The joke was that we 'd shipped gold but returned platinum.
Just wasn't a joke.
We'd given away so many promo copies
that when the stores started returning them to get their money back,
we were on the line for every last one.
And it was killing us,
killing us, because I was wrong.
Biggest sin of a record man,
believing in something because you have to,
not because you do.
I fucking begged you to pay back that money, Neil.
You kept sayin', "waiting for Carson."
And I convinced them to wait,
because this is me and you,
but they're done waiting.
I'm sorry.
It's okay, Joe.
Just tell them not the arm I sign contracts with.
(Groaning)
I remembered my dad,
remembered my promise to never become anything like him.
I just can't remember the exact moment when I did.
(Laughs) Egg cream?
Joey: Just get us the fucking money, Neil.
I fucking hate L.A.
(Neil coughs, gasps)
Cecil: Jesus. Joyce: Neil!
Jesus.
It's not that he was a postman. It's just...
I knew that he knew that's all he was ever gonna be.
Here. I'm scared.
Cecil: Come on. I'm scared.
(Shushing)
Justour little secret, brother.
(Sniffles, sobbing)
Cecil: Can we get something to clean him up?
Buck: You want a cigarette? Cecil: You're all right.
Joyce: Okay. It's okay.
Okay. Come on.
Cecil: Get him up. Walk it off. Walk it off.
Fuck.
Cecil: Come on. Buck: Fuck.
(Indistinct)
(Phone ringing)
If we cannot sell enough kiss records on our own,
then folks, we are gonna need an army.
It's merchandise, Nelly. It's a movement, Nance.
I love kiss, but how the fuck are we gonna get people
to buy shit about the album and we can't even get them to buy the album?
Because kiss has always been about the experience,
and that is where we have failed.
If you're not in the kiss army,
oh, then you are not in the kiss army!
You don't get the limited edition posters, the signed t-shirts, the comic books!
So we have comic books now? Neil: Yes.
Created specifically for the kiss army.
And the only way to get into the kiss army...
Is to buy their albums. Neil: Thank you.
Now, we have one very important question to answer.
What color do we paint the building?
Hundred bucks to whoever gets the... the best color.
Okay. Can we just... Can we just get a minute?
Thank you. Thank you so much.
What about black?
Can you imagine the whole fucking block was painted fucking black?
(Neil and buck laughing)
No, I can't. Oh.
Neil, you are my brother... Mm-hmm.
And if you want me to go off this cliff with you,
I'll even be the first to jump,
but you have got to help me understand why.
We are broke. Yes. Yes.
That is exactly what all of these fuckers are saying.
So, by tomorrow, I want an entire crew...
No, two crews outside, painting the entire block,
and I want you to pay them extra to do it slowly.
The longer they're out there working,
the longer people are just gonna drive by and see 'em.
See 'em doing what? Painting the building.
Neil: We're gonna place one final bet.
On who?
On us.
(Funk music playing)
It started with a makeover of the building,
but to the town, we were building our own makeover.
I mean, every day, we'd announce a new promotion,
but in real life, we were just swapping titles around
like the paint colors of the building.
We called everyone we owed, hyped every plan we had,
making most of it up as we went along.
We made them root for us...
Not against us.
Where the fuck is all the money coming from?
Nowhere. There was none. We... we just made everyone believe there was.
We bet everything we had on everyone we already believed in.
She's a stone-cold stunner...
Neil: We'd gone as far as we could go, as fast as we could go.
It's just, we were now seven million dollars in debt.
Well... until that night.
She's a stone-cold stunner
with a body, too
so watch out
huh!
She's a stone-cold stunner
(song switches)
(Disco music playing)
Woman 1: Hey, come here.
Do you wanna dance with me?
Woman 2: Sure. Both of you.
Oh. Llove to love you, baby
I love to love you, baby...
Woman 3: Hey, play that song again.
Woman 4: Play that again.
Man: Yeah. Play that again.
(Disco music playing)
(Woman moaning)
(Woman laughing seductively)
(Woman moaning continues)
When you're laying so close to me
there's no place I'd rather you be
than with me, here
I love to love you, baby
lay your head down real close to me
ease my mind and set me free
set me free, yeah
oh, love to love you, babe
oh, love to love you, babe...
Man 1: Put it back on. Man 2: Play it again.
Woman 1: Somebody put the music back. Man 2: Don't stop now.
The song is too short to have sex to.
Woman 1: Do you wanna dance with me?
Woman 2: Play it again. We're dancing.
Hey! Play it again!
(Disco music playing)
Neil: The answer had been there all along.
I just never imagined she'd be hiding 7, 000 miles away.
Oh, love to love you, babe
(woman moans)
Neil: Not that she was happy to see me.
Ladonna, please wait.
Giorgio said you'd be coming through. So, I hope that you enjoyed the show.
Have a nice flight back.
My real name's not bogart.
I changed it, actually, a couple times.
Was Neil Scott when I was a singer,
Neil Stewart when I worked for a modeling agency,
uh, Wayne Roberts when I did a soft porn film.
You made pornography?
Well, to afford my wife's engagement ring.
Okay. So, you did a dirty film
so that you could ask your wife to marry you?
The point of the... yes. The point of the story
is that we can be whoever we want to be.
Well, that may be the point of your story, but not mine.
It's the point of everyone's story, ladonna,
especially yours.
Why didn't people like the song?
I liked it. No. I mean, why didn't...
No. I... I know what you meant. I...
And the answer is that they didn't get it,
because I failed to get them to.
So, then why are you here?
Giorgio told me that he wanted me to cut the same song again.
I don't understand. You don't have to, okay?
You just have to trust that I do.
(Scoffs) I don't even know you.
But I know you,
ladonna Adrian gaines.
Grew up singing in a choir.
Raised by your mom in Boston.
You heard your voice raising all the way up
to the top of those stained glass windows,
and you let yourself believe that you could be more
than just that girl in a church.
And now, here you are, performing halfway across the world,
getting further and further away from that stained glass.
And every night,
you close your eyes,
dreaming that maybe someone will come along
and give you onelastchance.
Now, you tell me I'm wrong,
and I'm on the next plane.
Why me?
Because I have never heard
a voice like yours.
I will make you a star.
(Singing) Llove to love you, baby
I love to love you, baby...
You... you know what? I wanna do this again.
I just... go back from the top.
Giorgio: It's impossible!
Repeat the same eight measures over and over again?
It's just one lyric, Neil!
Yeah, which is going sound like something new each time she sings it,
when she sings it right.
This music is about the music,
not the fucking vocal!
Her fucking vocal is the music, giorgio!
Her voice is the thing that's gonna make people wanna dance,
and nobody wants to dance for three minutes.
People wanna to dance forever! And when they're making love,
they wanna make love forever!
Nobody could make a fucking half-hour song, Neil!
Not even you!
Buck: Neil could make a half-hour song.
Hey, you okay? I don't know.
You just got giorgio to leave his own studio. You tell me.
Let's just try it one more time.
(Recorder turns on)
(Disco beat playing)
(Singing) Llove to love you, baby
I love to love you, baby
(recording stops)
What? What's wrong?
You're just singing... You're just singing the lyrics.
I'm a singer. That's what I do.
No. I just... Give me one second.
One.
(Recorder switch clicks)
(Disco beat playing)
I don't understand what you want from me.
(Disco music playing)
To escape, Donna. That is what everyone wants, all right?
In the discos, on the dance floors, they want to fucking escape, all right?
And you, you will be the one to take them there.
You have to be their fantasy!
Do you know what my mother will think?
Yeah. I do.
(Singing) Llove to love you, baby
both: I love to love you, baby
more.
I love to love you, baby
when you're laying so close to me
feel it.
There's no place I'd rather you be than with me
think it. (Moans)
That's it.
Love to love you, baby
even sexier.
Loudeh
I love to love you, baby
harder!
I love to love you, baby
when you're laying so close to me
there's no place I'd rather you be than with me
oh, llove to love you, baby
I love to love you, baby...
Justyou. No one else is here.
I love to love you, baby
ooh, llove to love you, baby
(moans)
You and the music.
I love to love you, baby
it's just you.
Oh, llove to love you, baby
(moans)
Love to love you, baby
use your whole body, Donna.
When you're laying so close to me
there's no place I'd rather you be...
(Moaning)
Arch your back.
(Moans)
It's impossible, Neil.
It's absolutely impossible.
When... when am I supposed to play the commercials?
Frankie Crocker, you cranky fucker.
Fuck the commercials! (Laughs)
Fuck the commercials, man. It's a test. It's science.
Let's test it out on the... What's your name again?
Shan. Shan. That's mynmflmflsname.
Neil: Come on. Come on. This is something new, Frankie, right?
She's explosive. She's dangerous,
and you, my friend, can be the one to introduce her to the world.
We already introduced this fucking single, and it didn't move shit.
No, we did not introduce her to the world.
That was a different fucking record. That was not this record.
This is different. This is... this is new.
I mean, we were right about this girl.
She's amazing. You listen to the man, frank.
And what does that mean?
I'm right about a lot of shit I don't put on the radio.
This may be Casablanca's last fucking chance, Frankie.
Neil, it's 17 minutes long, all right?
I can't... How do I explain that?
Handcuffs.
Frankie... I brought mine.
Now, you ain't had those last night.
I didn't need them last night. Hey, how about you take
a bathroom break, Frankie? We'll take over from here.
Damon: Come on. Whoo!
Frankie: I gotta be out of my fucking mind.
You're in your mind. You're about to be out your pants.
(All laughing)
You motherfuckers gonna owe me one.
Looks like you got two, motherfucker.
(Disco music playing)
Neil: Sixteen minutes and fifty seconds.
With the record glued to the turntable, it played all night long,
with Frankie still locked in the bathroom. (Chuckles)
Lawyers were calling even before we landed back in la,
swearing they'd never play a Casablanca record again,
except something happened,
something that never had before.
Not just in New York. Stations all across the country are calling.
Everybody's trying to find a way to play her.
Tell them I'll buy them all. Buck: Buy what all?
The whole half-hour block. On every station.
Every city. The ad campaign,
"tune in at midnight for a half-hour of love,
"brought to you by Casablanca."
Call giorgio. Joyce: And then?
Call everybody else!
Donna: (Singing) Love to love you, baby
do it to me again and again...
Neil: We released our version of love to love you in 1976,
and when we did, it was like nothing else there ever was.
Branded too graphic by some critics, it was even banned by some stations,
which only helped us to sell more records.
Oh, love to love you, baby
time magazine reported 22 simulated orgasms in the song,
and the more people talked about it, the more they wanted more.
I mean, we were riding the biggest single we ever had
with the biggest artist we ever had,
and we were literally making her up as we went along.
Oh, love to love you, babe
is this make-believe, mama?
No, sweetheart. This is real.
I need makeup in here.
We brought in everything, designers, hair, makeup.
In the end, we went with wigs,
in every picture you've ever seen.
We invented every detail.
But the truth was that the first lady of love,
the superstar we were selling her as,
was as far from who Donna really was as she could be.
I want to know this woman.
You raised my vocal in the song.
Your vocal is the song.
(Singing) Bad girls
talking about the sad girls
sad girls
talking about bad girls
yeah
see them out on the street at night
picking up all kinds of strangers
if the price is right
and you can score if your pocket's tight
plus you want a good time
you ask yourself
who they are
like everybody else
they come from near and far
she's gonna be great. I know it.
I love you.
Man: You got it, Donna. Nailed it.
Ladonna?
So, what happens next?
(Chuckles softly)
You do.
(Crowd cheering)
(Disco music playing)
(S I n g I n g) Dim all the lights sweet darling
'cause tonight it's all the way
turn up the old victrola
gonna dance the night away
love just don't come easy
no, it seldom does
when you find the perfect love
let it fill you up
Dim all the lights sweet darling
'cause tonight it's all the way
hey, baby
turn up the old victrola
gonna dance the night away...
Neil: Donna was every one of our dreams wrapped up in a once-in-a-lifetime voice
that didn't just rise up to those stained glass windows.
She smashed right through them.
Now, when people who remember Casablanca
actually remember Casablanca,
this is what they remember.
Donna on top of the world,
as if this was the moment that began it all.
Up
Hey, baby
dim all the lights sweet honey
Neil: Having spent my entire life in venting my life,
I'd now invented hers.
That voice, the way Donna would just flow inside you,
that came from something far more inventive than me.
But the first lady of love?
The queen of disco?
That was as much of a fairy tale as I was.
Let's replace Gladys with Donna.
N eil: And suddenly, for the first time,
it wasn't just breaking one hit,
because once Donna broke, the hits just never stopped coming.
(Cash register dinging)
I knew what else we'd done wrong, too.
Recording alive album of greatest hits from a band who doesn't even have one?
That's new, Neil, even for us.
Hey, they've always had hits.
We just failed to record them in the way they needed to be heard.
By recording kiss live,
we finally captured the experience of kiss live,
which is what we 'd really been chasing from the very beginning.
Turned out, we'd been right about them, too.
We sold over nine million records.
Every bet we'd made,
we were right about all of them.
We just needed enough time
for all of you to catch up with us.
(Laughing)
Ruth: What is this? What are you doing?
Oh, my god. Ai.
Welcome home, ma.
Nelly, I already have a house.
Yeah, well, this one's bigger. Love you!
Al: Are you nuts? What are you doing here?
(Both laughing) Al, look.
We don't need this. Come on.
What?
No. No. That is too much.
Neil: I can only do all this because you taught me.
Who taught you? I taught you nothing.
Taught you how to lose. No, you taught me how to win.
You taught me to swing for the trees,
to bet big to win big. You remember?
You taught me how to dream!
Maybe a little bit.
No. Maybe a lot.
And, you know, maybe you were just a little unlucky.
Right? Well, I got your luck.
Nah. You made your own luck.
You're a genius.
You're a fucking Jewish genius. Ah, come on.
Hey.
You're a good son, bubbeleh.
(Kisses)
Four-color world, pop.
(Chuckles softly)
I'm in heaven.
Jesus Christ. If you can't keep the beat, let's just fucking spell, okay? Y, m...
That's right. We created the village people, too.
Y.M.C.A. became one of the all-time biggest selling singles,
more than 10 million copies.
Though, other than the cop, none of the others even sang.
Not on the records, not at the concerts, not ever.
Again. Let's go again.
You don't trust me? Look it up!
We went from living on the brink of bankruptcy
to earning five million in one month, six the next.
(Singing) Beth, I hear you calling...
Neil: I finally even let kiss release Beth on the destroyer album.
It would hurt every single time I heard it,
but it was the smash we'd been chasing since it all began.
Now, this is a love story.
You're the best fake boyfriend ieverhad.
Just a few more hours
and I'll be right home to you
I think I hear them calling
oh, Beth, what can I do?
Beth, what can I do?
(Crowd cheering)
Beth, I know you're lonely
and I hope you'll be all right
'cause me and the boys will be playing
all night
Neil: As for Donna, even with all her success,
I don't really believe ladonna Adrian gaines
ever really became Donna summer.
We just made you all think that she had.
So, truth is, none of us were still who we 'd been when it all began.
Casablanca had become something else.
I had become something else.
Okay, Neil. What's this all about?
We sold half the company to polygram.
Forty-nine percent. We still keep control.
We've lived an awful lotta years pretending to be rich.
You wanna see what it feels like when we finally actually are?
Nelly!
Jesus Christ.
I'm sorry, I never use the lord's name in vain, but...
Neil: Fifty million dollars for just half the company,
made out to Neil bogart...
(Laughing)
A name and a life I'd made up along the way.
Even paid mo back every penny.
Not because I had to, but because I could.
My dad had been right.
Most were all still there on the same four blocks of their lives.
For those of you who don't know,
I left Casablanca finally on February 8, 1980.
Itwas a Friday. (Chuckles)
It was five days after my 37th birthday.
Now, disco had officially died the year before, when a local dj
set a bunch of records on fire to the roar of a crowd,
as if that was a fucking concert. (Laughs)
Yeah. It was a good bet most of those were ours.
Now, all of you remember, I'm sure,
Donna and kiss and George,
village people, Gladys,
the isleys, bill withers, all the others.
But I bet each of you $100
that not one of you has ever heard of my name.
And that's okay. It's not like I had the talent that they did,
because I didn't, you know,
or that I mattered like they did,
because, uh... I couldn't.
But I sure as hell made you dance.
I sold over 200 million records,
and all that music that I helped make possible...
Became the soundtrack of your lives.
(Inhales)
And we were in the business of making dreams come true.
Didn't we do that?
And if we did, didn't... Didn't that matter?
Didn't I?
Evenif_ even if only for a song?
Idied...
May 8th, just two years later, from cancer.
I was only 39 years old.
I... iwouldn't change a fucking thing.
I just wish I had more time.
(Drums beating)
Donna: (Singing) Ineed you
by me
beside me
to guide me
to hold me
to scold me
'cause when I'm bad
I'm so, so bad
so let's dance
the last dance
let's dance
the last dance
let's dance
the last dance
tonight
lastdance
last chance for love
yes, it's my last chance
for romance tonight
oh, I need you
by me
beside me
to guide me
oh, to hold me
to scold me
'cause when I'm bad
I'm so, so bad
so let's dance
the last dance
let's dance
the last dance
let's dance
the last dance
tonight
chorus: Oh, oh, oh
yeah
hey, hey
whoa, I need you
by me
beside me
to guide me
to hold me
to scold me
because when I'm bad
I'm so, so bad
so come on, baby
dance that dance
come on, baby
dance that dance
come on, baby
let's dance tonight
Neil: (Singing) It was the greatest time of my life
yeah, the greatest time of my entire life
always made sure I took a road less travelled
till the curtain closed
living for my story to be told
'cause we all have a story to be told
it was the greatest time of our lives (crowd cheering)
It was the way we felt the love on hot summer nights
we never thought about getting old
and every day was rock and roll
living for our stories to be told
so we dreamed so big
they were destined to explode
we knew one day that we 'd be spinning gold
we bet it all, to never fall
we 'd rather die than fold
we just want our story to be told
it was the greatest time of our lives
when it was over, all we know
is that we got it right
with every heartbeat and every note
let's dim the lights and start the show
ready for our stories to be told
call on me, brother when you need a hand
so we dreamed so big they were destined to explode
we all need somebody to lean on
we knew one day that we'd be spinning gold
we bet it all to never fall ooh child
things are gonna get easier
I've got to go I've got to go I've got to go
no matter how high or fast we went
we never looked back and lived life, no regrets
wanted to leave this world a better place wheneverl left
and give you something that you'd never forget
oh, let's dance
the last dance
let's dance
the last dance
both: Let's dance
the last dance
tonight
dreams so big they were destined to explode
we knew one day that we'd be spinning gold
we bet it all, to never fall
we 'd rather die than fold
we just want our story to be told
and so we dreamed so big they were destined to explode
well, all right. Star child.
That we'd be spinning gold
my baby's kisses taste like candy
I 'd rather live in his world
than live without him in mine
want to rock and roll all night
we knew one day that and party every day
we 'd be spinning gold
I want to rock and roll
all night
and party every day
oh, we were destined to explode
'cause we knew that we'd be spinning gold
and we said we'd rather die than fold
we want our stories to be told
just a few more hours
and I'll be right home to you
let's dance the last dance
do n na: Tonight we just want our story to be told
(crowd cheering)
(Rhythmic hand claps)
(Neil sighs)
Female interviewer: You had a lot of resilience.
You have been up and down, and you've made a lot of money.
And you've been flat on your bum.
It's nicer being up. (Laughing) Yes.
If that was the question.
Oh. Why your resiliency? Where does it come from?
Where's that drive come from?
Probably, it originally comes from Brooklyn.
Brooklyn. You know, all people
that are born in Brooklyn seem to be able to bounce back,
because you have to if you come from there.
You have to have the desire to succeed and be a gambler,
and I both have the desire and I am a gambler.
So, you were poor? Yes. Yeah.
I came from Brooklyn,
and I used to sing on the street corners and stuff
do you think... lmean, what does it take to be a greaser?
I mean... you got what it takes.
You probably got what it takes.
Female interviewer: What do you think is the biggest misunderstanding
about Neil bogart?
There are quite a few misunderstandings about Neil bogart.
If you feel like rocking the Hollywood bowl,
it feels like being rocked.
(Crowd cheering)
(Inaudible)
Male interviewer: How'd you get so down and out, Neil?
Neil: / came out to California
after having a company called buddah records in New York City,
which was very successful, and I went into partnership
with warners bros. Records.
Um, inside of eight months, the partnership had just about dissolved,
and I lost the quickest three million dollars
anybody ever put up for anybody else.
Female interviewer: What does it feel like to lose a couple of million dollars?
Well, the strange thing is, I really didn't have it, you know?
(Laughing) Of course.
(Laughs) I don't think if! Had it, I could have taken the risk.
You know, it was a kind of situation where I just kept going
and really didn't stop to think of how I was going to pay it back.
And fortunately, success was around the corner,
and I was able to pay it back and come from behind.
You did it by giving, first of all,
one of the largest parties ever given in this town, didn't you?
Yes, it was. Because...
He laughs about it.
And you couldn't leave a tip, right?
That's... at the end, I couldn't. Um...
The party was fabulous. The reception was fabulous.
The welcome to California was exciting,
and from there everything went downhill.
Um, about eight months later, I realized that it wasn't going to happen.
Um, I had just finished
probably the most expensive album ever done in the record industry,
which was here's Johnny: Magic moments from the tonight show,
and we opened... you did that?
Yeah. That was our record.
(Laughs)
You all bought that, mdntyou? Yeah.
(All laughing)
We over-advertised and we over-promoted,
and we did everything you could possibly do wrong.
Um, and iwent to acapulco,
and while I was there, scuba diving,
I thought that, "you owe three million dollars.
"You don't have any money left in the bank."
Yeah. "You might have payroll
"for about two or three weeks left."
And I was down there, and I took the mouthpiece out
and said, "it could be over." I mean, that could be it.
You don't have to come back to the problems.
You don't have to come back to face the failure. And...
The last record I released at buddah records
was a thing by Gladys knight and the pips,
that when L.A. seemed too much for the man,
he couldn't make it, so he's leaving the life he's come to know.
He's leaving on a midnight train to Georgia.
And I just realized that wasn't me.
I had to win, or I had to fail. I couldn't cop out.
And I put the mouthpiece back in. I swam and found Joyce.
Um, I said, "come on back. We're going upstairs.
"We're gonna go back, and we're gonna do it.
"We're going to win, or we're gonna fail."
And in the back of my head, I always had the thought
that I can always go back to Brooklyn
andopen a candy store. Yeah.
Except there are a lot of those there, aren't there? (Laughs)
Yeah. But, you know, growing up there,
I mean, that was always a kind of comforting thing,
that I could always go back to that, and that... and that was a great life.
Woman: What does a tiger say?
Neil: That was the bogarts, the fabulous bogarts!
Well, I want to thank you all.
Jill, Timothy, Bradley, come on.
Come on. Say goodbye to the audience.
We'll see you again!
Bye, everybody!
Bye!
Do you have one more word you'd like to say to everybody?
Goodbye. Cheerio.
What was that? (Talking gibberish)
From the fabulous bogarts!
See you next week!
Boy: Yeah!