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Renowned music documentary filmmaker Malcolm Leo and veteran personal manager John Hartmann have secured an agreement to produce a feature length documentary on music icon Jerry Garcia. After a lengthy pursuit of the rights, Leo will direct and also produce with Hartmann. The Leo/Hartmann Productions pic will be built around a 3-hour conversation that Leo conducted with Garcia in 1987. The historic interview was shot on negative film with studio quality sound and lighting. The footage presents a compelling portrait of the cult hero at the height of his success. Leo intends to blend an unprecedented amount of never-before-seen performances, documentary footage, and rare home movies.
The project has great bonafides: Leo’s previous work includes films on Elvis Presley, Crosby Stills & Nash, and The Beach Boys. Hartmann, the brother of the late comedian Phil Hartmann, was formerly personal manager of Peter Paul & Mary, Crosby Stills & Nash, The Eagles, America, Poco, and others. The pair want a completed docu will be ready for release in the spring of 2012 and currently are finalizing financing and distribution with the help of Jeff Silberman of Century City law firm King Holmes Paterno & Berliner.
Leo/Hartmann provided a short film clip to the San Francisco Giants for Jerry Garcia Day last summer seen by 42,000 fans. The entire celebration was captured on film by co-producer Justin Kreutzmann and will be included in the Leo/Hartmann movie. The producers were given full access to film Annabelle Garcia, Jerry’s eldest daughter, throwing out the first pitch as well as to members of The Grateful Dead legacy band Furthur singing the national anthem, as well as the Guinness World Record-setting playing of “Take Me Out To The Ball Game” by thousands of fans on kazoos.
A number of films about The Grateful Dead have cropped up, but the challenge has always been to get music rights. For instance, ICM has been grantedunprecedented access to the seminal band’s music catalog and will package a narrative-style feature film built around those tunes. Formed in 1965, the San Francisco-based band broke up in 1995 after frontman/guitarist Garcia passed away shortly after the band was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame. The Dead spent 30 years together and did 2,300 live performances.
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i bet it will be good. he was a thoughtful, understated and soulful musician, not to mention an original.
Looking forward to it. Truly one of a kind, and what a guitar player… Lines and melodies unlike any other player to pick up the instrument.
question – if this will include ‘never before seen performances’ which are just film recordings of live concerts, would they not have been seen before?
either way, i will definitely be checking this out.
Used to trip out to them, but Im sure, since they “came out” as typical 60′s liberal retreads, they’ll throw in the requisite right wing jabs at Nixon, Reagan, and of course, Bush, who didnt take office until almost 6 years after Jerry died!
Brutony, still doesn’t get it. Says he tripped out to them, and then calls them 60′s liberal retreads. They were the 60′s Tony, and they were apolitical – like Jerry said, not getting behind anything, any movement. Just trying to live simple, uncluttered lives.
You, on the other hand, are full of right wing clutter. You just never got it did you?
some people got on the bus. some people stayed on the bus. and then there are people like brutony who apparently was just run over by the bus. repeatedly.
Litmus …. LMFAO! Brutony, you been served!
While this is a documentary, I’d be interested in someone pursuing a biopic about Jerry as well. This is a tricky proposition, to be sure, and it would require the right actor to fill the role so as not to alienate a huge fan base.
Who would you like to see play Jerry Garcia if a biopic were made?
Who would play Garcia?? Wow …. I vote for either (a) the guy who played Newman on Seinfeld, or (b) Glenn Beck. I dunno why, just think it would be funny. C’mon, seriously, WHO on earth could play Garcia? He was ONE OF A KIND
Wow brutony, angry much?
John Hartmann is a talented man. Glad he and Malcolm Leo have partnered on this.
Great to see such an amazing team doing this, not another production company looking for the quick buck. Should be done with the depth, soul and passion that can only come from pro’s like Leo and Hartmann. Can’t wait.
Really?…. I’m excited by the prospect of the content that this promises, the politics are irrelevant. Go watch Fox “news”
NFA Jerry!
Saw Garcia over 150 shows from 1980-94 some were spectacular others where spectacularly bad but always enjoyed the experience. Hopefully this project can reflect that.
Jerry Garcia captured the soul of an era. This film could capture the soul of Jerry Garcia. Fingers crossed.
Big smile after reading this! Love Garcia and the Dead. He was such a soulful, sweet, and extremely talented guy. It was a real pleasure getting to represent him for a couple of years before he passed away. He is sorely missed.
Who would I want to see star in a biopic about Jerry? I wouldn’t. I didn’t know Jerry personally, but through his interviews and writings, he was one of a kind. Any attempt to try and reproduce that energy and personality would just fall short. Share all of the archival footage that exists from his body of work, and let that remain his legacy.
I think Jerry would be amazed at the attention he is garnering in his after life. I also think Jerry would be confounded at the lack of awareness of who he really was. Anyone that took the time to tune into the Dead’s gig, would know he truly was the right brained creative cherub we always expected. His views on anything topical, news wise, were always coerced by the press. Personally I got the feeling the press might have been at the root of some of the things that depressed him.
I got a chance to shake his hand and trade a few words one night in Seattle. I was presented with a very nice man, willing to engage in idle chat with a “fan” at 3:30am.
Jerry was no enigma. He was genuine to the core. In my opinion that’s what we should all strive for. Being as true to the core as Jerry was.
Sorry for the lengthy missive. Some things need some words to be adequately illuminated. After all Jerry mentioned he’d like to be a headlight on a north bound train. Say’s it all for me.
Peace
My thoughts exactly!!! If a concert performance has never been seen were they ever here at all?
Jerry would have hated a “bio pic” about him and probably would have been embarassed at the idea of a documentary film as well. He always felt the music should speak for itself. I welcome the documentary for my own selfish reasons. However, if you examine the entire canon of his recorded music, you’ve got to say he was right. Jerry left a musical legacy that few in the rock world could even think about matching.