Morgan Neville's acclaimed documentary film Twenty Feet From Stardom has been put in the running for an Oscar. The film takes a look at the lives of backup singers, the sometimes-overlooked stars who make huge contributions to the music world.
Renowned president of A&M Records, the late Gil Friesen, came up with the idea for the film and produced it. During his time at A&M, Friesen worked with the likes of Cat Stevens, Carole King and the Police. Rolling Stone reported that Friesen got the idea for Twenty Feet From Stardom when he became fascinated with the backup singers at a Leonard Cohen concert, and working in film wasn't foreign to him as he executive-produced The Breakfast Club in 1985.
Friesen died in December 2012 from Leukemia at the age of 75, but he was able to see the final cut of the film before he passed away.
"In the beginning, he was saying, 'We'll win an Oscar!'" Neville told RS. "And I thought, 'Gil, there's no way that's ever going to happen!' But I have to say, Gil foresaw this more than we did. He always knew how to pick a hit."
Backup singers Darlene Love, Merry Clayton, Lisa Fischer, Tata Vega and Claudia Linnear appear in the film and discuss how their roles allowed them to have hopes and dreams but also sometimes frustration and thwarted expectations. Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Mick Jagger and Stevie Wonder are among the many musicians in the film that testify to the women's contributions to pop.
Twenty Feet From Stardom was released last June and ended up grossing $5 million, the most out of any other documentary in 2013.
"Gil was always encouraging me to make sure it was a story people could relate to," Neville said. "Most people aren't rock stars or CEOs. Most people identify with just being somebody in the middle and doing the best work they can without all the credit or money in the world. The music is a great way in, but music is a great Trojan horse to tell another story."
The film will compete against The Act of Killing, Cutie and the Boxer, The Square and Dirty Wars in the documentary category.
