Boston Premiere of Award-Winning ‘The Wrecking Crew’ @ Regent Theatre Thursday, December 15th
Dec 09, 2011
Boston Premiere of Award-Winning ‘The Wrecking Crew’ @ Regent Theatre Thursday, December 15th
Film with non-profit status about legendary group of West Coast Studio Musicians Q&A with Producer/Director Denny Tedesco, son of Wrecking Crew guitarist, Tommy Tedesco
“It’s a wonderful, touching and… hilarious film about the unsung stars of so many records that you carry in your heart.” Elvis Costello
Los Angeles CA, November 1 2011—They were the studio musicians behind some of the biggest hits in the 1960s and ‘70s. From “Be My Baby” to “California Girls;” “Strangers in the Night” to “Mrs. Robinson;” “You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feelin’” to “Up, Up and Away;” and from “Viva Las Vegas” to “Mr. Tambourine Man,” the group dubbed The Wrecking Crew played on them all. Six years in a row in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Grammy for “Record of the Year” went to Wrecking Crew member recordings.
“The Wrecking Crew,” a documentary film produced and directed by Denny Tedesco, son of legendary late Wrecking Crew guitarist Tommy Tedesco, has played around the world in the festival circuit with over a dozen awards and rave reviews and other accolades. The film was released into the Festival Circuit in 2008 and garnished a dozen awards in over 50 festivals around the world but never found a distributor. The December 15 screening event at Arlington’s Regent Theatre will be its Boston Premiere with Denny Tedesco on hand to introduce his film and host a post-screening Q&A.
The film includes wonderful interviews with Brian Wilson, Cher, Nancy Sinatra, Herb Alpert, Glen Campbell, Gary Lewis, as well as Crew members themselves.
Why the film hasn’t reached a wider audience, even though it is championed by all who see it, is becoming a bit of lore itself. A labor of love by director Tedesco, the film is also ultimately a love letter to the legacy of his late father and musician friends in the Crew. Documenting the work of musicians on such iconic songs, however, can be cost—and distribution—prohibitive. According to the American Federation of Musicians, the film may one of the largest soundtracks of any film in history, with 131 music cues. With songs by Frank Sinatra, Nancy Sinatra, The Monkees, The Byrds, Mamas and Papas, Sonny and Cher, The Beach Boys and dozens of others, the cost of licensing the music for the film is estimated at more than $300,000.