Monterey Pop
June 1967, we went to California. Pennebaker, me. Al Maysles, Nick Proferes, my son Robert, Nina Schulman (who took sound and was very close in the editing) and many more -- the whole gang -- went to film the Monterey POP! Festival. This was Pennebaker’s movie and I knew nothing about the music (except for Ravi Shankar). It was a learning experience for me. I worked with Robert and we were assigned a stage right position on the roof looking down, with the camera on a tripod. Boring! A robot can do that, so we rebelled and went in search of shots and people and it became a glorious experience. Just to watch Mama Cass move was thrilling. Not just when she was singing: when she was listening, whatever she was doing. Otis Reading, likewise. The finale of Shankar! Just to film the applause -- I had never seen an audience explode like that, and all the people -- the flower people; getting up in the morning, hanging out. It was wonderful.
When Pennebaker and Nina had it put together he invited the newly appointed president of ABC-TV, Barry Diller, to a screening of what was supposed to be their film. He sat through it in our screening room and at the end there was a long silence, he turned and said, “This film does not meet industry standards!” To which I replied, “I didn’t know you had any”. They refused to pay, so instead of looking for another TV client, Pennebaker renegotiated all the contracts for cinema screenings. It took about a year and then, instead of opening in New York, we opened in San Francisco and this wonderful movie crept eastward like a plague. By the time it got to New York we didn’t need to worry about what the New York Times said; it was a hit.
When Pennebaker and Nina had it put together he invited the newly appointed president of ABC-TV, Barry Diller, to a screening of what was supposed to be their film. He sat through it in our screening room and at the end there was a long silence, he turned and said, “This film does not meet industry standards!” To which I replied, “I didn’t know you had any”. They refused to pay, so instead of looking for another TV client, Pennebaker renegotiated all the contracts for cinema screenings. It took about a year and then, instead of opening in New York, we opened in San Francisco and this wonderful movie crept eastward like a plague. By the time it got to New York we didn’t need to worry about what the New York Times said; it was a hit.