Jon Lefkovitz's 2014 film Rubber Soul recreates – very faithfully – John Lennon and Yoko Ono's 1970 Rolling Stone and 1980 Playboy interviews, juxtaposing them and showing how John's thoughts on issues like drugs, fame and The Beatles changed over the intervening decade. We talk about the artistic value of recreating something exactly, and how that might play into Beatles fans' expectations and desires when seeing the band played on film by actors.
It also raises questions about the significance of the rock star interview, and John's interviews in particular. His statements in these conversations were accorded great importance, and Jann Wenner's 1970 interview in particular had a huge influence on public perceptions of Lennon and Paul McCartney for decades to come, but given John's habit of stating differing opinions from one day to the next, maybe interviews with stars shouldn't be treated with such reverence?
The Beatles Films Podcast is hosted by Matt Looker and Ed Williamson. We're both film writers and Beatles fans. Between us we've written for TheShiznit.co.uk, Total Film, Den of Geek and Virgin Media.
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