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

Blitzkrieg Bop
Written by Tommy Ramone (uncredited) and Dee Dee Ramone (uncredited)
Performed by Yo La Tengo
Blue Disque Music co. (ASCAP)
Warner Chappel
Courtesy of Matador Records

User Reviews

Credit where it's due

Greetings again from the darkness. Tying in nicely with the repertory showing of Rock 'n Roll High School (1979) at the Oak Cliff Film Festival, this documentary from Brendan Toller aims to give credit to one of the unsung (and mostly unknown) influencers of cultural and music changes in the 1960's and 1970's. Danny Fields was the behind-the-scenes "mover and shaker" who helped shine the light on bands such as The Doors, Velvet Underground, The Stooges, MC5 and The Ramones.

Fields is described as having his pulse on the underground music scene, and this is meant to be a compliment … he knew what the "cool" people were listening to. More than just a keen social observer, Fields finished 6th in his class at Penn – as the youngest graduate - and went on to drop out of Harvard Law School in order to be on the front line of the cultural changes occurring in the 60's.

Director Toller's respect and admiration for Fields is on full display, and we are treated to interviews from the likes of Alice Cooper and Iggy Pop, to multiple sit downs with Fields himself … the highlights of the film. The stories about "16" Magazine, Jim Morrison, Nico and Edie Sedgwick are all interesting, but it's watching as Fields personally recalls his involvement that offer us something we've never before seen.

Fields' time at Elektra Records is chronicled, as is his fallout with The Ramones … whose song provides the title of the movie (also covered by Tom Waits and Foo Fighters). It's also noted that Fields decision to take The Ramones on a UK tour, helped drive the popularity of The Sex Pistols and The Clash … the foundation of the new Punk era. It's always refreshing when accolades and credit find the proper target – even when delayed by a few decades.