TOTAL INFORMATION ANALYSIS

Sunday, March 11, 2007

At a free screening at a private academy for educational use no less! Portsmouth Herald March 08, 2007:

"SOUTH BERWICK, Maine -- Oh, Yoko.

News that Yoko Ono blocked a showing of a John Lennon documentary at Berwick Academy on Tuesday sparked a serious online debate on the forums of seacoastconnects.com.

The story also spread like wildfire on the Internet Wednesday, appearing in newspapers from England to India and throughout the United States.

On Monday, Ono threatened to sue the private academy if it showed "3 Days in the Life," a film about her late husband made in 1970. Although World Wide Video LLC owns the footage, Ono claimed she has a copyright interest in the film about the legendary Beatle and it cannot be shown without her legal permission.

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What is Ono trying to hide? The filmmakers have about 3 full days of raw footage just 3 months after the "Paul is Dead" story broke in the States and only weeks before the breakup of the BEATLES was formally announced. Details from the official website 3daysinthelife.com:

The dates were February 8, 9, and 10 and the year, 1970 (only weeks before the break up of the Beatles) and a "crowning date" when a solo John Lennon (and The Plastic Ono Band) scored his first #1 song with "Instant Karma." John Lennon was about to make history (again) – 37 years ago.

John Lennon and newfound buddy Tony Cox (Yoko's former husband) were in the midst of an untitled, intimate, no-holds barred film based on "three days in the life of John Lennon and company." Hours upon hours of documentary, black & white videotape were shot and today the film is owned by World Wide Video LLC. They had, in the past, attempted to market the unseen raw footage. WWW ultimately decided against it and now, there is a new, distinct purpose being planned for the film. The Boston are based partners of World Wide Video LLC are initially planning to offer and distribute the film for "educational purposes."

This formerly untitled film is called 3 Days in the Life. Now, film and music students across the country will have an opportunity to see this one-of-a-kind, historic, black and white documentary beginning in the Spring of 2007. Exclusive screenings are scheduled at private schools and universities nationwide.

3 Days in the Life is in pre-production stages of an early edit. Originally the film was shot in a cinema verite' style (let the camera roll – edit later) and plans call to develop and cull the footage into a full 90 – 120 minute documentary format. There are almost 10 hours of 37 year-old raw videotape and when you consider that "production" stemmed from a 1970 Sony, reel-to-reel, pre-Beta professional video deck...

Upon viewing 3 Days in the Life that it could be said that the film is "the granddaddy of all reality shows as we know them today". In the next few months 3 Days in the Life will finally be shown in a 2-hour format at selected colleges and private schools in the greater Northeast – New Jersey , New York , Massachusetts , and Connecticut initially - with plans for a California showing in the works.

3 Days in the Life is taking on another life of its own. Also on the agenda is to show never before seen, black & white pictures will include: Lennon at home, strumming his guitar, composing, joking, reading the morning paper, talking candidly, awaiting word on "Instant Karma," touring the estate, in the "creative process of songwriting," going to the office, on a London street, filming footage himself, discussing politics., testing his solo status, etc. Maybe, they knew it (or maybe not) but as the film unfolds, it would be promoted today as a reality show in a documentary format starring John Lennon.

...Lennon speaks of the coal miners' strike in the UK (and his support) during one segment. Early 1970 was a turning point in John Lennon's life and career, as well as for those around him. This unseen film footage culminates with John Lennon's rehearsal for the BBC show Top of the Pops where he performed "Instant Karma" for the first time publicly. The song had just gone to #1 . ..

Presently, 3 Days in the Life will be limited to college and university audiences. The reason? World Wide Video LLC felt that after all these years, they would maintain the integrity of the film by doing the right thing and holding true to its overall purpose – seeing the "real" John Lennon. Although Tony Cox sold the film, he did copyright the video under the name of Tony Cox ' Video of John Lennon dated May 2, 1997 – it was his property until the sale was consummated in Jan. 2000 to World Wide Video LLC. 3 Days in the Life is a rare, powerful and in many ways a voyeuristic journey into "three days in the life of John Lennon (circa 1970) – a black & white view of an iconic composer (plus family and friends) in residence, and a reborn solo artist in the process of creating and evolving.

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More on what's in the footage from the London Times 24 March 2000:

It is February 1970, the Beatles are just a couple of months away from breaking up, and John Lennon's mind is full of many things.

What can he do to help the drug-dealing Black Power leader with whom he is smoking what appears to be hashish? Should he try to "con" his record company into building him an ornamental lake? How about finding a way to put LSD in President Nixon's tea?[...]

According to Mr. Cox, several scenes focus on Lennon and Ono's visit to the Black House, a centre run by Michael X, a Trinidadian counterpart of Malcolm X who was later executed for murder. The couple shoot a promotional film for the Black House and then "smoke hashish with Michael X". John asks: "Is the front door locked? Most important." Michael X reassures him and explains how his group decided that drugs we're a more valuable commodity than money and speaks of playing "rough games, fighting games" to establish their bank.

The script describes Yoko as "stoned" and "John snaps at Yoko: 'As usual she doesn't know what we're talking about.' John is handed a joint and launches into a long rap about contracts, continuing to hog the joint. Finally Yoko nudges him to get the joint."

Labels: beatles, intellectual property

| Posted at 16:31 | PERMA-LINK |

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