The Agency's Posts

Martin Scorsese to direct Bill Clinton documentary: Martin Scorsesehas found his next film subject:Bill Clinton. The Oscar winner will produce and....
Read More>

A rooftop jump-off point for 'Silver Linings Playbook': David O. Russell and Bradley Cooper collaborated in a way that was part free fall, part....
Read More>

Model Moves Boot Camp: GET THE MOVES THE SUPER MODELS USE! Happy Holidays to all of you... PEACE and HAPPINESS in....
Read More>

Beatles flop 'Magical Mystery Tour' is put in context: A well-done documentary looks at the 1967 TV special that was met largely with confusion.....
Read More>

Movie 'Zero Dark Thirty' stokes debate on CIA torture: The new Hollywood film depicts harsh CIA interrogation techniques as helping lead the U.S. to....
Read More>

'The Hobbit' is one film to rule them all at box office: "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"stands to collect more gold at the box office....
Read More>

Yo, Adrian! Im Singin !: Yo, Adrian! I’m Singin ! By PATRICK HEALY WHEN a team of Broadway veterans began....
Read More>

With Bill Murray, Just Take the Trip: With Bill Murray, Just Take the Trip By DAVE ITZKOFF WHAT do we still want from Bill....
Read More>

Guiding Stars Who Had Never Acted on Film Before: Guiding Stars Who Had Never Acted on Film Before By LARRY ROHTER The Romanian director....
Read More>

Below the Line: Editing the Crash in Flight: Below the Line: Editing the Crash in ‘Flight’ By MEKADO MURPHY In some ways, film....
Read More>

Sopranos Alumni, Back in Jersey: Sopranos Alumni, Back in Jersey Inside ‘Not Fade Away,’ From David Chase PEOPLE....
Read More>

TV Host Buys Marketing Agency to Expand His Reach: TV Host Buys Marketing Agency to Expand His Reach By BRIAN STELTER Published: December 5,....
Read More>

Walking Dead Ratings Eclipse Even Those of Top Broadcast Shows: ‘Walking Dead’ Ratings Eclipse Even Those of Top Broadcast Shows By BILL CARTER....
Read More>
Davis Guggenheim talks U2's 'Achtung Baby' documentary
Posted on: 10/30/11
Share/Save/Bookmark

 

More than two decades ago, the Irish rockers U2 were at one of their early peaks with their fifth album, “The Joshua Tree.” Though they followed with “Rattle and Hum” a year later, the less than steller reception of the accompanying documentary left U2 members raw, and for a band already at a breaking point creatively and personally, it could have been the end. Instead, they ran off to a studio in Germany and went about reinventing and repairing themselves.

The end result was the critically acclaimed “Achtung Baby.”

With the 20th anniversary of the disc approaching, the band allowed Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Davis Guggenheim (“An Inconvenient Truth,” “It Might Get Loud” and “Waiting for ‘Superman’ ”) to trace the making of the album for the documentary “From the Sky Down," which opened the Toronto International Film Festival and will premiere on Showtime on Saturday.

The film looks back at the album that U2 frontman Bono called “the pivot point where we were either going forward, or [the] moment to implode.”

Pop & Hiss chatted with Guggenheim  to discuss what he learned from the five months he trailed the band, which included seeing U2's blockbuster 360 Tour 10 times.

Why tackle a documentary on U2, especially through the scope of an album that’s 20 years old?

Well that’s the thing when they said, "Do you want to do this?" I said, "I don’t want to make a film that’s a tour of nostalgia. I'm interested in telling a story." What’s interesting is “Achtung Baby” was the point where the band reached a crisis point. Either they were gonna disband or reinvent themselves. They really were at that point where most bands break up. They had lost their sense of who they were. When they hit Berlin, it really was: Who are we and should we go our separate ways? To me, that was an interesting story. What came out of [Berlin] was a completely new band and a completely new sound. That album is a complete 180 degrees opposite from all their music before.

Bono has always seemed guarded. How did you get him to open up the way you did?

[Laughs] The very first thing I asked for was a lot of access and they agreed. They were on tour and they were in South America and I wanted to do these long interviews with each member of the band and sort of talk through that period. What you hear in the movie are these very intimate, very sort of vulnerable and raw [moments]. That became the source of the movie -- those interviews. I asked them to go back to the scene of the crime and meet me in Berlin for two days. They go back to [Hansa Studios] where it all blew up.

What happened when you met with them in Berlin and put them inside Hansa Studios?

I ask them to recount what happened. And they end up playing the key songs that they played on the album. They recount the traumatic moments that happened in that space. They hit a creative impasse in that building. They were not getting along and they talked very raw. In the movie, we recount where they found themselves.

There is an incredible moment where they talked about one song that wasn’t working [“Mysterious  Ways”] and Edge brought in a guitar part for the bridge section of the song and it wasn’t working. They start playing the bridge section, and that becomes the essential chorus for “One.” We found the session [DAT] tapes of them playing. It's pretty remarkable, like goosebumps on the back of your neck.

You have three films among the top 100 highest-grossing documentaries ever. What keeps you going in that medium?

Documentaries are really exciting right now. Where I think a lot of theatrical movies feel the same over and over again, documentaries seem to be changing and evolving. And the form keeps changing. This movie here is a very different kind of music documentary than you’ve ever seen. There’s a new type of story told. You’re seeing Bono perform a song acoustically by himself. You’ve never seen that before. You’re seeing footage you’ve never seen before.

Besides the five months you spent with the band on the road, you must have heard plenty of U2 in your lifetime. What records stick out to you? Any favorites?

My brother brought home the album “Boy” [when it came out in 1980]. I had never heard any music like that before. It was an energy and a tone in music I had never heard. It was shocking and challenging and beautiful. That’s what's good about U2. They keep evolving. And that’s what this movie is about. Some bands keep making the same music over and over again, but you like them because they are familiar. But U2 is always changing their sound and their music. That’s what makes them exciting and dangerous 40 years later.

The broadcast of “From the Sky Down” coincides with an expansive anniversary release of the disc on Monday.

There will be a handful of editions of the album, depending on a fan's budget. The most impressive? The Uber Deluxe Edition, which features six CDs, including the original album, its follow-up, “Zooropa,” B-sides and re-workings of previously unheard material recorded during album sessions; four DVDs including "From The Sky Down", the Zoo TV tour, a video anthology from “Achtung Baby” and bonus material; five 7" vinyl singles; 16 art prints from the album; an 84-page hardback book; a copy of Propaganda magazine; four badges; a sticker sheet … and a replica of Bono's sunglasses -- all for a cool $469.95.

British music magazine Q has also commissioned a tribute album to commemorate the anniversary featuring covers from Jack White, Depeche Mode, Patti Smith, Damian Rice, the Killers, Garbage and Nine Inch Nails. Both the anniversary release and the tribute album are available to order here.

 

 
COMMENTS
Be the first to post a comment!


Post A Comment:




  • It's 2020! Start booking roles in commercials, fashion, films, theater and more with The Agency Online!

  • NEW WORKSHOP with Barbara Barna & Sean De Simone!

    Hi Everyone and Happy Summer! Sean at Sean De Simone casting and Barbara Barna are teaming up for a super informative and fun Hosting for Home Shopping workshop. A great opportunity for established or experienced TV Hosts and Experts interested in learning how to get noticed and how to get in....
  • MASTERCLASS W. Robin Carus & David John Madore

    A Special Offer for the Agency Community, from one of our favorite NYC Casting Directors! EMAIL FacetheMusicWithUs@gmail.com Or Eventbrite To Sign Up! Class Size is Limited.
  • Don't Fall Into The Comparison Trap

    Hi Everyone! As the second installment in an ongoing series of features by the Agency's amazing community, here's some sage advice from our own Regina Rockensies; a humble (& awesome)veteran we've had the pleasure of working with for a long time. Have an excellent week! : ) - The Agency....
  • One Model's Agreement

    Hi Everyone! As the first piece in an ongoing series of original articles by the Agency community, here's a short reflection on some of the values of professional acting & modeling that we can all keep in mind for our next casting. Good luck on your castings &shoots this week! : ) -....




 
home       castings&news       privacy policy       terms and conditions      contact us      browser tips
Official PayPal Seal