Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Aretha Franklin Blocks Release of Never-Before-Seen Sydney Pollack Documentary

Recorded live over two nights at at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles in January 1972, Aretha Franklin's Amazing Grace went Double Platinum and remains her biggest selling album to date.

A four-man 16mm film crew, led by Academy Award-winner Sydney Pollack, was on hand to capture the event. Almost forty-years later, an attempt to release the documentary in honor of the late director was quashed by the Queen of Soul.

With the success of Woodstock and Gimme' Shelter not far behind them, Warner Bros. assigned Pollack, then fresh off a Best Director nomination for The Shoot Horses, Don't They?, as one of the four cameramen. Warners eventually deemed the gospel documentary a hard sell and abandoned the project.

According to Variety, Alan Elliott, the film's producer, will oversee the assembly of the twenty hours worth of raw concert footage that sat languishing in a vault for thirty-eight years. The final credits will read: "a film by Sydney Pollack."

That is, if the Queen of Soullessness allows it. TMZ tells us Franklin has retained the services of an attorney who plans to seek an injunction to block the release of the film. According to her lawyers, "Elliott is breaching an agreement in place with Warner Bros. ... that requires him to get permission from Aretha before using her likeness in the film."

The number of zeros on Franklin's check will ultimately determine whether or not audiences see this all but forgotten work by a respected Oscar-winning filmmaker.

And did the Showbiz Bible erroneously report, "Warner Bros. once envisioned (the film) as part of a double bill with Superfly?" Aretha's gospel doc paired with King Pimp?! They must have it confused with Fly's 1974 reissue pairing opposite another film of the same title.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JrHr1P5ryc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sBVIgd3_Zw

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

The Fellini of Clairemont High

When gang showers were standard for gym class

Recorded live over two nights at at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles in January 1972, Aretha Franklin's Amazing Grace went Double Platinum and remains her biggest selling album to date.

A four-man 16mm film crew, led by Academy Award-winner Sydney Pollack, was on hand to capture the event. Almost forty-years later, an attempt to release the documentary in honor of the late director was quashed by the Queen of Soul.

With the success of Woodstock and Gimme' Shelter not far behind them, Warner Bros. assigned Pollack, then fresh off a Best Director nomination for The Shoot Horses, Don't They?, as one of the four cameramen. Warners eventually deemed the gospel documentary a hard sell and abandoned the project.

According to Variety, Alan Elliott, the film's producer, will oversee the assembly of the twenty hours worth of raw concert footage that sat languishing in a vault for thirty-eight years. The final credits will read: "a film by Sydney Pollack."

That is, if the Queen of Soullessness allows it. TMZ tells us Franklin has retained the services of an attorney who plans to seek an injunction to block the release of the film. According to her lawyers, "Elliott is breaching an agreement in place with Warner Bros. ... that requires him to get permission from Aretha before using her likeness in the film."

The number of zeros on Franklin's check will ultimately determine whether or not audiences see this all but forgotten work by a respected Oscar-winning filmmaker.

And did the Showbiz Bible erroneously report, "Warner Bros. once envisioned (the film) as part of a double bill with Superfly?" Aretha's gospel doc paired with King Pimp?! They must have it confused with Fly's 1974 reissue pairing opposite another film of the same title.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JrHr1P5ryc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sBVIgd3_Zw

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Brainy Q&A this Friday and Saturday evenings at Reading Town Square 14

Next Article

Free movies of the week: First films

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader