With the recent critical and box office success of “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Rocket Man” it’s natural to wonder who are some other rock stars or bands that would make good subject matter for a big screen feature.
The best movies about famous stars need several facets of drama. With singers and musicians we’re talking about conflicts with coming from nowhere to mega-stardom and having issues with parents and or lovers at the start of their story. Next, you put into the script the big break that makes someone a star and toss in the ‘coping with fame’ element and of course sex, infidelity and problems with drugs and alcohol. There’s also the requisite drop in fame and stature because nobody stays on top forever (except for maybe Taylor Swift) and jealousy and betrayal within the band or the inner circle of the artist.
So here’s my pick for the next rock star movie to be about the Eagles. Now two disclaimers.
Disclaimer #1– Yes I am and always have been a big Eagles fan, but I’ll get to my reasoning.
Disclaimer #2. Some might say there’s already been an acclaimed documentary about the band titled “The History of the Eagles.” True enough. However, if you watch that two part DVD you learn the overall story about what this group went through but it’s not acted out in dramatic fashion. There is more to any story than just some interview clips covering basic history and the Eagles have plenty of history that can be delved into and presented in a more dramatic movie form.
First, you have the meet up in L.A. of Glenn Frey from Detroit and Don Henley out of rural Texas. They abandon previous music work to be Linda Ronstadt’s back-up band and then move on to form their own group. The Eagles’ success grows steady, Don ‘Fingers’ Felder joins up to add a more rocking edge to their music then Bernie Leadon gets fed up with the the crazy star lifestyle, dumps a beer on Glenn Frey and quits. Not too long afterwards, Joe Walsh becomes an Eagle. Next, the landmark “Hotel California” album launches the band into monster fame and fortune. Next up, their drug and alcohol intake increases. Then there’s the pressure to equal the success of the Hotel California album and more inner band fighting than anyone can believe.
Let’s not forget the infamous Long Beach concert for Senator Alan Cranston where Glenn Frey and guitarist Don Felder get into an onstage verbal fight that goes on to a near post-show throw-down. Next the band splits up for 14 years. Henley and Frey put on solo careers but it’s not all a smooth ride and Joe Walsh’s substance abuse damn near kills him. Then you have how the Eagles reunited in 1994, Walsh gets clean & sober and the group tours endlessly to make more money than ever before. Felder gets kicked out of the band and sadly in 2016 Glenn Lewis Frey dies after battling multiple illnesses. Plus you have Frey’s son Deacon and Vince Gill joining the latest incarnation of the group.
There’s plenty of material here that could be dramatized in a movie. And now I’ll present who I would cast in a movie about the Eagles.
So there you have my casting for an Eagles biopic. Now it’s up to Hollywood to roll up to the Hotel California with my ideas.
NEXT WEEK’S BLOG: Happy Birthday to ‘Trouble.’