Shut Up & Sing (2006)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Directors:

Barbara Kopple
Cecilia Peck

Release Date:

10 November 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography | Music

Tagline:

Freedom of speech is fine as long as you don't do it in public.

Plot:

A documentary on the Dixie Chicks in the wake of singer Natalie Maines' anti-George W. Bush statement at a 2003 concert.

Plot Keywords:

Music Producer | Songwriter | Sister Sister Relationship | Intolerance | Political

Awards:

6 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Natalie Maines	...	Herself
Emily Robison	...	Herself
Martie Maguire	...	Herself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Clayton Allen	...	Himself
Billy B.	...	Himself (archive footage)
Paul Beane	...	Himself
Cindi Berger	...	Herself
Barbara Boxer	...	Herself (archive footage)
Aaron Brown	...	Himself (archive footage)
Pat Buchanan	...	Himself (archive footage)
George W. Bush	...	Himself (archive footage)
Randy Carroll	...	Himself
Dick Cheney	...	Himself (archive footage)
Anderson Cooper	...	Himself (archive footage)
Lewis Dickey	...	Himself (archive footage)
Dixie Chicks	...	Themselves
Rebecca Hagelin	...	Herself (archive footage)
Smokey Hormel	...	Himself (as Gregory 'Smokey' Hormel)
Darlene Kegan	...	Herself
Toby Keith	...	Himself (archive footage)
Rob Light	...	Himself
Eva Ruth Maguire	...	Herself
Gareth Maguire	...	Himself
Kathleen Emilie Maguire	...	Herself
Bill Maher	...	Himself (archive footage)
Lloyd Maines	...	Himself
Kidd Manning	...	Himself
John McCain	...	Himself (archive footage)
John Meglen	...	Himself
Bill O'Reilly	...	Himself (archive footage)
Adrian Pasdar	...	Himself
Jackson Slade Pasdar	...	Himself
Mindi Pelletier	...	Herself
Colin Powell	...	Himself (archive footage)
Robin Quivers	...	Herself (archive footage)
Simon Renshaw	...	Himself
Charlie Robison	...	Himself
Henry Benjamin Robison	...	Himself
Julianna Tex Robison	...	Herself
Charles Augustus Robsion	...	Himself
Rick Rubin	...	Himself
Donald Rumsfeld	...	Himself (archive footage)
Diane Sawyer	...	Herself (archive footage)
Jim Scott	...	Himself
Chad Smith	...	Himself
Gordon Smith	...	Himself (archive footage)
Howard Stern	...	Himself (archive footage)
Chris Testa	...	Himself
Richard Wilkins	...	Himself
Dan Wilson	...	Himself
E.J. Wojtowitz	...	Himself
Paula Zahn	...	Herself (archive footage)

Also Known As:

Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing (International: English title) (long title)
Shut Up and Sing (USA) (alternative spelling)
Untitled Dixie Chicks Documentary (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

93 min | Canada:99 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Netherlands:6 | USA:R (Adult language) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Australia:M | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-3 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Cabin Creek Films

Trivia:

"Shut Up and Sing" is also the name of a best-selling book by conservative talk radio pundit Laura Ingraham. In her book, Ingraham skewers the Dixie Chicks and other musical acts who use their concerts and television appearances to voice their political opinions.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: Natalie is wearing a shirt that states "Dare to Be Free," in one shot the image is mirrored left to right. Evident in the text and her hair are reversed.

Quotes:

Man on Phone: They should send her to Iraq, strap her to a bomb and just drop her over Baghdad.

Movie Connections:

Features "Anderson Cooper 360°" (2003)

Soundtrack:

The Long Way Around

Not ready to make nice

A great companion film to "The US vs. John Lennon," which I had seen a few days previously at the Toronto Film Festival, Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing looks back at the controversy that occurred when Natalie Maines told, quite off the cuff, a largely anti-war London audience (on the eve of the Iraq War) that she was ashamed that George Bush was from Texas. While one can understand how the Nixon gov't objected to Lennon's peace activism, it's frightening to consider how a seemingly innocuous remark by the Dixie Chicks would turn into an organized campaign by the religious right in the U.S. that would lead to their CDs being burned, country radio stations refusing to play their songs, and the absence of support (if not open hostility) from the country music industry. The film was the second runner-up for the People's Choice award at the Toronto Film Fest, but one wonders if it's release in the U.S. might not open some old wounds. The Chick's current tour is playing to smaller crowds and more Canadian dates, as their U.S. support--particularly in the country music strongholds in the South--continues to wane. But I think the film may strengthen their support from their new fans who may see supporting the Chicks as equivalent to thumbing one's nose at Bush and his intolerant supporters.