# Bohemian Rhapsody, Rocketman, and...? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 28, 2018, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-rhapsody-rocketman-and/825229 "2018-11-28T22:11:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2018, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-rhapsody-rocketman-and/825229/41 "2018-11-29T16:36:42Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > I want to know who is latest drummer is for Spinal Tap and what happened after they got back together Gregg Bissonette ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2018, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-rhapsody-rocketman-and/825229/42 "2018-11-29T16:40:58Z")
> [@dba\_Fred](#): > > _Hello, It’s Me_: The Todd Rundgren Story Slightly off-topic: Note to Todd fans–his autobiography, _The Individualist - Digressions, Dreams & Dissertations_, is coming out next month. ps: Roger Daltrey has wanted to make a Keith Moon biopic for years, but I think the plans ultimately came to nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Hermione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/cdc98d/32.png) [@Hermione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermione)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2018, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-rhapsody-rocketman-and/825229/43 "2018-11-29T17:09:59Z")
There have been movies about segments of the Beatles’ career (the excellent, underrrated Backbeat for example) or individual Beatles (mostly on the small screen–only one Beatle biopic I can think of for the big screen, Nowhere Boy, about John’s youth). But I’d love to see, not just a movie on the Beatles’ whole career, but a miniseries–or even a multi-season cable drama. Their story is just so fascinating and so rich with side characters and incidents that I don’t know if a movie would do it justice. There have been documentaries, I know, but I’d like to see the story dramatized. There was talk of a Brian Epstein biopic with Benedict Cumberbatch, but it seems to have come to nothing. That would have been a good story to tell in its own right. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2018, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-rhapsody-rocketman-and/825229/44 "2018-11-29T17:27:10Z")
Speaking of Beatles biopics, there is also [Two Of Us](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0228979/), a TV movie imagining what might have happened one night at The Dakota when Paul paid a visit to the Lennon household. Worth checking out if you’re a fan. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2018, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-rhapsody-rocketman-and/825229/45 "2018-11-29T17:48:10Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Aye; that’s what I meant: there are a ton of amazing stories about interesting and colorful people within the punk rock and heavy metal communities. And in punk rock, the sheer number of connections, real personal connections between individuals, is staggering. Pick any significant figure in punk rock and I guarantee that there could be dozens of cool “cameo” type roles. > > Darby Crash from the Germs? Now you get to have Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Kim Fowley and other Hollywood/LA folks populating your movie as well. > > Do a movie about Slayer and you get to feature people from Metallica, Exodus, Testament, etc. interacting with the band. > > You could even do a movie about Raymond Pettibon, who did the art for SST Records back in the day (Gregg Ginn, of Black Flag, is the owner of SST & is Raymond’s brother) and you could have tons of other punk rock folks in the movie. There’s already been an Ian Dury biopic, [Sex and Drugs and Rock n Roll](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1393020/), starring Andy Serkis. It’s pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2018, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-rhapsody-rocketman-and/825229/46 "2018-11-29T17:58:52Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > Slightly off-topic: Note to Todd fans–his autobiography, _The Individualist - Digressions, Dreams & Dissertations_, is coming out next month. > > ps: Roger Daltrey has wanted to make a Keith Moon biopic for years, but I think the plans ultimately came to nothing. someone else talked about making a movie about Moon but Daltrey got Townshend to deny the Who music rights so that other movie was canceled . ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2018, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-rhapsody-rocketman-and/825229/47 "2018-11-29T17:59:05Z")
If these things come in threes, I’d probably argue that _Straight outta Compton_ was really the first, Bohemian Rhapsody was the middle, and Rocketman will be the final band/performer biopic of the trio. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2018, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-rhapsody-rocketman-and/825229/48 "2018-11-29T18:01:38Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > There’s already been an Ian Dury biopic, [Sex and Drugs and Rock n Roll](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1393020/), starring Andy Serkis. It’s pretty good. BAM!; it’s on my list! Thanks for the heads-up! Can I recommend [24 Hour Party People](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0274309/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) in return? It’s about Tony Wilson, who founded Factory Records and helped birth Rave culture. Many bands and colorful, interesting and influential people are part of the story. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2018, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-rhapsody-rocketman-and/825229/49 "2018-11-29T18:08:38Z")
For studio musicians, there have been _The Wrecking Crew_, _Muscle Shoals_, and a third (centered on the Stax label?) which I can’t remember the title of right now. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2018, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-rhapsody-rocketman-and/825229/50 "2018-11-29T18:15:36Z")
[Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1034410/) Don’t forget [_20 Feet from Stardom_](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2396566/) about backing singers or 2016’s [_Hired Gun_](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4026034/) about touring/studio musicians. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2018, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-rhapsody-rocketman-and/825229/51 "2018-11-29T18:38:49Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > They’ve already made _The Buddy Holly Story_ and _La Bamba_. So we just need a studio to make _Chantilly Lace: The Life and Death of the Big Bopper_ to complete the plane crash trilogy. I’ve been waiting for a J.P. Richardson biopic for years, but since one was named after the artist and one for a signature song, the last of the trilogy needs to be named for a catchphrase - “Helloooooo Baby!”. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2018, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-rhapsody-rocketman-and/825229/52 "2018-11-29T20:12:57Z")
a few movies were made about Elvis - one was a TV movie in 79 and the other was a TV mini-series in 2005. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2018, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-rhapsody-rocketman-and/825229/53 "2018-11-29T21:36:58Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > I’ve been waiting for a J.P. Richardson biopic for years, but since one was named after the artist and one for a signature song, the last of the trilogy needs to be named for a catchphrase - “Helloooooo Baby!”. They should do a variation of my modest movie proposal. Make three, independent, biopics, that are fully stand alone movies, but use the same actors for the characters in all three. And the scenes where they are all together on screen are exactly the same (maybe change camera angles, focusing on whose movie the scene is in). If you really wanted to be gimmicky, “time code” the movies so the interaction scenes are all at the same run point in the movies. Have the movies finally converge at the crash. ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2018, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-rhapsody-rocketman-and/825229/54 "2018-11-29T23:27:54Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Janis Joplin, Kris Kristofferson or maybe a film just on their time together… From IMDB: “The movie was originally entitled “Pearl”, which was a biographical movie based on Janis Joplin’s life. When approached with the script for “Pearl”, Bette Midler believed it was too soon after Joplin’s death to portray her life in a movie. Rewrites were then made, with Midler’s guidance, that deleted some portions of the original script and embellished other parts of the story. Then the rewritten script was named “The Rose” and Midler agreed to the lead role.” I only saw it once but I think there was a Kris Kristofferson(est) character in there. Bette did a great job, but she’s no Janis! That’s the major problem with any movie about Janis, she was so powerful and bigger than life when she was on stage and so incredibly insecure off stage, getting someone to capture both sides of her is near impossible. I quick check on IMDB shows there are plans for a movie called Janis starring Michelle Williams. Sorry, don’t know who she is since I don’t watch anything from Hollywood. ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2018, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-rhapsody-rocketman-and/825229/55 "2018-11-29T23:30:18Z")
A Fleetwood Mac movie would be interesting, but there have been so many documentaries about the group, I don’t see how a movie would be able bring anything new to the table. The same holds true for most groups/soloists. Plus, like Janis (though of course not to her level), I can’t see anyone matching Stevie’s early (partially drug-induced) versions of Rhiannon (both visually and aurally), while being a good enough actress to portray her in the rest of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2018, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-rhapsody-rocketman-and/825229/56 "2018-11-29T23:52:27Z")
> [@lingyi](#): > > I quick check on IMDB shows there are plans for a movie called Janis starring Michelle Williams. Sorry, don’t know who she is since I don’t watch anything from Hollywood. I see she was one of the stars of “Dawson’s Creek” and played the lead in a Marilyn Monroe biopic a few years back. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-rhapsody-rocketman-and/825229/57 "2018-11-30T02:14:44Z")
I’d watch the fuck out of Heart Full of Napalm: The Iggy Pop Story. God knows who you’d cast, though. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-rhapsody-rocketman-and/825229/58 "2018-11-30T02:49:38Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > I’d watch the fuck out of Heart Full of Napalm: The Iggy Pop Story. God knows who you’d cast, though. I’d watch that. Or how about an MC5 movie? Plenty of drama there! ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-rhapsody-rocketman-and/825229/59 "2018-11-30T04:23:39Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Three nice boys put a band together and get along for 40 years? > > There is the tragedy of what happened to Neil’s family. The background of the Zivojinovich and Weinrib families. The band itself doesn’t have a lot of fodder for a movie. > > An interesting movie anyway. I did enjoy the documentary. Did you know that this wasn’t Alex’s first documentary? That’s right: in 1971, he and about 10 other Toronto teenagers lived together on a farm for two months. With the exception of one youngster (NOT Alex!), it’s really not as scandalous as it may seem. I finally saw it a few weeks ago after I found it on You Tube. It’s called “Come On Children.” Maybe I haven’t looked hard enough, but I haven’t been able to find it on DVD (my library couldn’t locate a copy) because I’d LOVE to hear a commentary track, regardless of who would do it. > **[Come on Children (1973) ⭐ 6.8 | Documentary](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0269104/)** > > 1h 36m I first heard of it in the mid 1980s when a co-worker at Pizza Hut told me about it. My response was, “Where did you hear about something like this?” Don’t remember his answer. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-rhapsody-rocketman-and/825229/60 "2018-11-30T04:27:43Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Now if we just want to list some rock bios that people would prolly watch because the subjects are interesting and/or colorful characters: > > GG Allin’s life story would make a helluva movie. > > Wendy O. Wiliams likewise. > > Jello Biafra’s story alone is amazing but a film about the Dead Kennedys would be great. > > In fact, I’ll stop right there before I go and list like 50 punk and metal artists who all fit the “interesting and/or colorful” requirement. There’s an Allin doco. Yeah, I’ve seen it. Unlike “Pink Flamingos”, this was real. [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107086/?ref\_=fn\_al\_tt\_1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107086/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-rhapsody-rocketman-and/825229.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-rhapsody-rocketman-and/825229.md?page=4)