20 FEET FROM STARDOM - 1 nomination

20 FEET FROM STARDOM

Documentary Feature - Morgan Neville, Gil Friesen, and Caitrin Rogers

For the first time in history, the camera pulls in close to the talented artists who help make songs into a wall of sound - the backup singers.  It is a whole new look on the music industry, as some of the top backup singers in the business talk about their lives, their aspirations, and their amazing experiences with the most famous and well known musicians and producers in history.

Contrary to what I would have believed, not all backup singers aspire to take center stage.  Some do, and we get to listen to them and see their journeys as well - Sheryl Crow being the most famous among those who walked from the back microphones to the center one, but also Darlene Love who is famous for her song, "He's a Rebel," but who Phil Spector famously shafted in the building of her own career.  The list of people included in this film (both backup and famous alike) reads like a Stradivarius plays.

What an incredible movie!  If you see it only to listen to the incredible soundtrack of live music, it's a completely worthwhile endeavor.  Judith Hill, who had that iconic moment in Michael Jackson's final film, This Is It, is featured.  She has amassed a huge fan base (partly due to her appearance on The Voice) and she is now working very intentionally to establish her own solo career, with the occasional backup gig when the likes of Elton John ask her.

20 Feet From Stardom has a pretty good chance of capturing the award, only because about half the time the full length documentary winner is the most fun or uplifting story, and most of the time the winner is the most well known among the five, which this is.  We'll see how the rule changes (described in my entry for The Square) affect the outcome in the category, but win or lose, this film was outstanding.

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