Neil and Demme chat on ‘Journeys’ doc at Slamdance

Written by bnbrainer on 23 January 2012

Neil Young, Jonathan Demme chat on ‘Journeys’ doc at Slamdance
January 18, 2012 | 12:46pm

Neil Youngand filmmaker Jonathan Demme will hold court Sunday at the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, where they’ll conduct a master class session about their latest collaborative music documentary, “Neil Young Journeys,” following its U.S. premiere screening Saturday at the festival.

The film follows Young on the trek from his hometown of Omemee, Canada, to Massey Hall in Toronto for the final two shows of his 2011 solo world tour. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer reminisces about childhood friends and talks about how the surroundings have changed over the decades while rolling toward Toronto in a 1956 Ford Crown Victoria.

It’s the third film the two have worked on together, following 2006’s “Neil Young: Heart of Gold” and 2010’s “Neil Young Trunk Show.”

“I have had the high pleasure and honor of sitting down with Neil two times before: [last fall] at the Toronto Fest and a couple of years back at Sundance, when we showed up with ‘Neil Young: Heart of Gold’,” Demme told Pop & Hiss. “Neil is extremely spontaneous and original in his thinking on all things musical and cinematic, so it’s really a blast for me to get to do something like this with him. We’re very, very excited that Slamdance has invited us to have our USA premiere with them this weekend.”

The “Journeys” program will be preceded by the first screening of a 13-minute mini-documentary Demme shot in October of an Occupy Wall Street drum circle gathering.

The 2012 Slamdance Festival, highlighting works from independent filmmakers, runs Friday through Jan. 26. Special events also include a screening Tuesday of “With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story,” about the pioneering comic book artist from directors Will Hess, Nikki Frakes and Terry Dougas. The film screening will be preceeded by a morning master class session with Lee and Hess.

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