I saw the documentary 'Who Is Harry Nilsson and Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him?' tonight. It's a wonderful informative film on the life of Nilsson which reveals what an amazingly talented artist he was and the inner demons that tore him down in the end. The movie tracks Harry's career with his first success writing 'Cuddly Toy' for the Monkees, his friendship with the Beatles, his incredible albums like 'Nilsson Schmilsson', 'Nilsson Sings Newman', 'The Point', the hit singles 'Everybody's Talking' and 'Without You', and Harry's downward spiral due to his excessive lifestyle. There are interviews with Micky Dolenz, Brian Wilson, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Robin Williams, May Pang, Paul Williams, Yoko Ono and others who were in Harry's orbit. Lots of funny and sad stories, and many, many incredible photos and rare footage and performances that will make Nilsson and Beatles afficionados drool.
There was a Q&A after the screening with director John Scheinfeld who also directed 'The U.S.A. vs John Lennon', Rock Historian David Leaf and May Pang. I know May through a mutual friend who passed away this summer and it was nice to see May again who signed my copy of her book 'Instamatic Karma' with a very lovely inscription. Director Scheinfeld revealed that the upcoming DVD release of the Nilsson documentary will include lots of rare bonus footage that was not used in the movie.
If you're a Nilsson fan, you will absolutely love this movie. This movie will also please fans of the Beatles, the Monkees, The Who, Brian Wilson, heck, anybody who ever crossed Harry's path. The movie is traveling throughout the country, so catch the screenings when they come to your area, and definitely get the DVD when it's released, it's a keeper. Recommend it to everyone you know. If enough people see it, they'll stop asking 'Who is Harry Nilsson?'. After seeing this movie, they'll know.
http://www.authorizedpix.com/wihn_home.html
Historian David Leaf, May Pang and Director John Scheinfeld.
With May Pang at Nilsson Screening.
