Danny Says (2015)

Danny Says is a documentary on the life and times of Danny Fields. Since 1966, Danny Fields has played a pivotal role in music and "culture" of the late 20th century: working for the Doors,... See full summary »

Director:

Brendan Toller

Writer:

Brendan Toller

Stars:

Mx Justin Vivian Bond, Judy Collins, Alice Cooper

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Mx Justin Vivian Bond	...	Justin Vivian Bond
Judy Collins
Alice Cooper
Danny Fields	...	Danny Fields
Danny Goldberg	...	Danny Goldberg
Steve Harris
Fayette Hauser
Jac Holzman
Billy James	...	Billy James
Lenny Kaye
Wayne Kramer
Wayne Kramer	...	Wayne Kramer
Gary Lucas	...	Gary Lucas
John Cameron Mitchell
Iggy Pop

Storyline

Danny Says is a documentary on the life and times of Danny Fields. Since 1966, Danny Fields has played a pivotal role in music and "culture" of the late 20th century: working for the Doors, Cream, Lou Reed, Nico, Judy Collins and managing groundbreaking artists like the Stooges, the MC5 and the Ramones. Danny Says follows Fields from Phi Beta Kappa whiz-kid, to Harvard Law dropout, to the Warhol Silver Factory, to Director of Publicity at Elektra Records, to "punk pioneer" and beyond. Danny's taste and opinion, once deemed defiant and radical, has turned out to have been prescient. Danny Says is a story of marginal turning mainstream, avant garde turning prophetic, as Fields looks to the next generation.

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Taglines:

When the mode of the music changes, the walls of the city shake.

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Genres:

Documentary | Animation | Biography | History | Music

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Magnolia Pictures [United States] Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 September 2016 (USA)

Box Office

Budget:

$700,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,244, 2 October 2016, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$42,237, 6 November 2016

Company Credits

Production Co:

Outre Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

DTS (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Quotes

Danny Fields: The lesson of Andy Warhol is, it's sort of an upper class thing; you don't get all excited about anything. That suits me fine. That's it. I was not worried about being uncool anymore, because I knew all it took was to do nothing. That's the whole model of what that world was saying, 'You're better off doing nothing. Look at it, and let the looking at it become the thing that you're doing.'

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Connections

Features MC5*: A True Testimonial (2002)

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Soundtracks

Break On Through
Written by Jim Morrison (uncredited), Ray Manzarek (uncredited), John Densmore (uncredited) and Robby Krieger (uncredited)
Performed by The Doors
Published by Doors Music Co.
Wixen Music Publishing
Courtesy of Rhino Records

User Reviews

A documentary about a hidden force who helped change people's lives

A documentary about Danny Fields, the record industry A&R man/artist liaison/cultural barometer who was the friend of so many great bands and artists and more importantly, had a hand in making sure they could get record deals and record their music so that their genius could be shared with the world.

This documentary gets it just right- there are moments of animation to illustrate the narrative but these don't overpower the film, there are many musicians and personalities who are either interviewed or spoken about but it doesn't feel like some kind of bragging rollcall. There are also perceptive and very interesting insights into being gay in a small town and also when Danny had left home and was carving his adult life.

As for the artists, all of the groups and singers who changed my life are here. From hanging out with The Velvet Underground to working and socialising with The Doors, The Ramones, Jonathan Richman, The Stooges, Nico, MC5...This is a life spent in the thick an alternative American musical history and you feel privileged to be a part of this. There are also hidden gems that are priceless- a taped phone call with Nico, a recording of the first time Lou Reed is played The Ramones and how elated he is by it.

I bought Raw Power by Iggy and the Stooges at the age of 14 and it changed my life. And Danny Fields is partly responsible for this. This documentary helps to shed light on a hidden force who made this possible.