PARK CITY, UTAH — Not wanting “Twenty Feet From Stardom” to be over when it’s over is a perfectly reasonable reaction to seeing the film. If, logistically, a few things fall into place, it doesn’t have to be over.
The Sundance-premiered documentary was a hit as soon as it flared up on the screens in Park City this month, with Weinstein label Radius-TWC picking up the title in the first acquisition of the festival. The film featured several in-studio performances from greats like Darlene Love, Merry Clayton and Lisa Fischer, and the filmmakers even had two of those tracks pressed onto promotional 7″ records.
And last week, for those who witnessed it, a quintet of those vocalists gave a “one-night-only” performance of “their” greatest hits — tracks like the Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” and the Crystals’ “Da Doo Ron Ron” which depended heavily on those backing tracks — and they took the house to church. For Love, Clayton, Fischer, Tata Vega and Judith Hill, they not earned their way into the spotlight, but they loved the material and seemingly each other.
Speaking with me in Park City, “Twenty Feet” director Morgan Neville intimated that a series of live concerts could be in the works in supporting the film’s theatrical release, said to be this summer. “I think they’re ready… I think it’s dawning on them that this is a special moment.”
For Love and Clayton — who swapped stories and overflowing enthusiasm for the final product during our chat — they don’t want to get their hopes too high, but if it “flows”… then more live music and perhaps even an album together could be in their collective future.
Watch the videos above and below. Do you think Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger, Sting and others could back them?