NEW-short video-Documentary on Lightfoot at TIFF -Sept.2014

[charlene]

Toronto INt.Film Festival- sept.4-14-2014 - Documentary on Lightfoot will air at the 2014 TIFF.

http://www.orilliapacket.com/2013/10...ary-in-orillia

ORILLIA - “Everything I did started here,” Gordon Lightfoot said Tuesday at St. Paul’s United Church.

It’s fitting, then, the storied folk singer/songwriter would choose the place that served as the genesis of his career to begin filming a documentary about his life and music.

In fact, if the directors with Insight Productions wanted to go back even further than Lightfoot’s days as a soprano at the church, it would be a bit of a balancing act.

“I was standing on my grandmother’s table, singing for my relatives,” Lightfoot recalled, noting he was three or four years old at the time. “I certainly wouldn’t stand on my grandmother’s table now.”

The idea of a documentary chronicling the Orillia-born musician’s life and career was conceived “a long time” ago, Lightfoot said, but the delay in beginning the project has come down to a matter of getting the time to do so.

Having just completed a string of 18 concerts, Lightfoot has a few weeks off before heading back on the road for a dozen more shows.

Tuesday was Day 1 of filming and St. Paul’s was an appropriate venue.

“This is a documentary about my life and my connection to the church and the training I got here,” he said of his early days with the choir.

The documentary, which is expected to be released in time for next year’s Toronto International Film Festival, will be the authoritative story of Lightfoot.

A biography was published in the ’70s, but a lot has happened since then and there are many stories to be told.

“This documentary is going to do that,” Lightfoot said. “We’ve got some talented people working on it.”

It’s an important project for the film’s directors, Martha Kehoe and Joan Tosoni, and they realize how important it will be to Lightfoot’s fans and his hometown, too.

“Gordon is a subject that a lot of people feel close to and you want to do justice from that point of view,” Kehoe said.

Covering a career that spans 50 years and a life of 75 is “a big undertaking,” Kehoe admitted. But she and Lightfoot are confident the film will become a special piece of music history.

The film will include footage that hasn’t been seen before, Lightfoot said.

Lightfoot, who performs about 70 shows per year, is touring the United States this year. Next year, he will tour Canada.

nathan.taylor@sunmedia.ca

T.I.F.F. runs sept.4-14,2014
http://tiff.net/

[charlene]

http://www.simcoe.com/news-story/415...a-for-filming/

Lightfoot visits Orillia for filming
Gordon Lightfoot visited the Orillia Opera House and St. Paul's United Church Tuesday while filming a documentary about his life.

Orillia Today
ByFrank Matys

Hometown troubadour Gordon Lightfoot returned to two childhood haunts Tuesday for an upcoming film focusing on his life story.

Lightfoot spent time at St. Paul’s United Church, where he was once a member of the youth choir, and the Orillia Opera House, the downtown landmark where he first performed as a child, and later as an international superstar.

He spent part of the morning and afternoon at the church and arrived at the opera house with a film crew shortly after 4 p.m., staying for a few hours.

“Gordon just talked and talked about various memories, stories of the songs he’s written all the while strumming out bits and pieces of his tunes,” said Krista Storey, general manager of the opera house. “It was the most relaxed I’ve ever seen him. He had a super day.”

Storey said that, prior to visiting the opera house, Lightfoot took the film crew for a drive around Orillia, “where he possibly pointed out some old haunts.”

Lightfoot has played benefit concerts at the opera house in recent years, including a pair of shows in 2009 supporting Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital.

During this week’s visit to the historic theatre ¬– the very venue where he suffered a near-fatal abdominal aortic aneurism several years ago ¬– Lightfoot was reflective while offering pointers on the art of songwriting.

“His advice to young people is to look deep inside for those songs,” Storey added. “Work on the chord progressions first and then you let the imagination take over if you can. And no one gets anywhere in this business without practicing.”

As reported recently by Orillia Today, Lightfoot is the subject of an upcoming profile by CBS Sunday Morning.

A crew from the U.S. television network visited the opera house and St. Paul’s United Church in early September.

[charlene]

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1457518/ - Kehoe

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0869226/ - Tosoni

[T.G.]

Exciting news ... but I hope it doesn't derail any evil plans for a written bio of The Man.

[jj]

Originally Posted by charlene

“Gordon is a subject that a lot of people feel close to and you want to do justice from that point of view,” Kehoe said.

i hope they do it some justice too... and there's some new info that the mishmash of other features over the years have not touched on... walking about the Opera House and the original church of Gord (good one, char) while reminiscing isn't new, is it? Rev Karen has hours of Gord talking about young Gordie and the choir years. It it likely aimed general audiences, like they are hearing about his 2002/3 setback and recovery for the first time...hope not...looking forward to the new footage!!!!

it's always hard to top the Orillia footage with Gord talking about the bulldozers moving earth, etc... in the classic Telescope, Lightfoot Forward...but please do!

Tosoni produced this also,

The Introduction to Joni Mitchell's concert DVD,...

i dont know what connection there is between Arquette and Mitchell, odd

maybe similar to the Steve Miller and Lightfoot one

funny how Joni's Painting with Words and Music 1998 release was same year as A Painter Passing Through

hey, if they wanted to learn about and capture Gord's hometown vibe, they should have gone ahead of Gord and got some Culture Days weekend footage ...talking to Canadians... Orillians

[charlene]

I just watched this again - my other fave guy - Kris - it's broken down into 4 parts https://www.youtube.com/user/tinsta156/videos

[Bill]

Wow. This is one I would have liked to make myself, but I know folks up in Canada will have a better handle on it. On a related note...in grad school I did a documentary tracing how the acoustic guitar evolved. Option number two under consideration at the time was a biography of Tom Rush. Guess what...someone just finished one on him, so I guess my idea back years ago was good too! Hoping to see both.

[charlene]

Krista J Holmes-Storey: (GM @ Orillia Opera House)
"We are always happy to have a visit from Mr. Lightfoot and yesterday was no exception. In town with Insight Productions filming an upcoming documentary that includes his very important roots here in Orillia, Gordon sat on the stage that bears his name talking and strumming on his guitar for hours. It was a real treat to sit and just listen to the many stories of his youth, inspiration for so many of his lyrics, people he has worked with along the way and his advice for up and coming song writers. We look forward to seeing the results of this indepth look at life of Orillia's Golden Son. Pictured here with Opera House GM Krista Storey are Joan Tosoni and Martha Kehoe of Insight Productions and of course Gordon Lightfoot himself."

[jj]

nice pic... it's a great opportunity for these women to explore the doc genre further and can hardly go wrong with the subject matter...hope it's got some grit and not too polished..well, not a gritty as the bodini book effort, lol

they seem to have a great resume when it comes to producing reality stuff...comedy, idol, canada's got talent, dancing, juno's etc...the joni was the only music doc type thing i came across, and that was a live concert, i understand...also a karen kane doc ... havent seen either...late 90s stuff

i always thought Kenyon would be great at doing a video journalistic piece on Gord... squeeze some songwriting stuff from him, etc... and throw Bill and char in the mix, and Bob's your uncle (anyone see that cool Doidge piece i posted?)

...lat week, a family member was cutting hair for a regular client who went to school with Gord...i think those are the folks I'd like to see interviewed, locals

[Dan O'Malley]

As this has been "a long time in the works", it may explain the cameras filming at Massey Hall in 2011!

[jj]

was at Orillia today reading the actual papers with these articles...i never noticed the articles posted here mentioning that these were a CBC crew ...that's what is right in the headline though...maybe someone confused CBC for CBS

who knows, well, glad CBC is doing the doc - like he said, he's in good hands

[charlene]

Dan - the 2011 recording was supposed to be a concert DVD... maybe we will get to see some of the footage ... altho he wasn't happy with any of it...

[charlene]

CBS is doing a separate piece from what I understand - for their Sunday Morning show..Hey JJ - why the hell didn't you stop in?????

[lighthead2toe]

Originally Posted by jj

nice pic... it's a great opportunity for these women to explore the doc genre further and can hardly go wrong with the subject matter...hope it's got some grit and not too polished..well, not a gritty as the bodini book effort, lol

they seem to have a great resume when it comes to producing reality stuff...comedy, idol, canada's got talent, dancing, juno's etc...the joni was the only music doc type thing i came across, and that was a live concert, i understand...also a karen kane doc ... havent seen either...late 90s stuff

i always thought Kenyon would be great at doing a video journalistic piece on Gord... squeeze some songwriting stuff from him, etc... and throw Bill and char in the mix, and Bob's your uncle (anyone see that cool Doidge piece i posted?)

...lat week, a family member was cutting hair for a regular client who went to school with Gord...i think those are the folks I'd like to see interviewed, locals

I would have to concur 100% here with JJ's suggestion for choosing Kenyon as one to do a journalistic piece on Gord.

Apart from being a graduate in journalism, Kenyon cut his teeth growing up with the Lightfoot sounds all around his family, community etc. They even were neighbors of Gord for a time as well.

He can also play and sing the tunes and has in fact captured many of the Red Shea lead guitar licks and plays them quite well as a member in the current "Lightfoot Tribute Band."

Now that Gord has reached the part in his life where he's open for closer communication with his audiences and although cautious as in the Lightfoot tradition, I strongly feel a Gord, Kenyon connection would be a win win situation for all.

So if it should please you I would have to say....... go for it.

[jj]

hey Ron - KW also knows his way around a piano, good enough for GL fills

and all the lyrics and then some (how do you guys do it?!)

bass might need some work, otherwise a one man GL band tribute guy


char, i know u dont drive but do you not own a road map? lol ... the Halton to Orillia route i take is through Orangeville or sometimes 407/400

you mean detour 90-120 minutes and drop by? LOL ... 1000 Islands is over

love to hookup though ...its getting cool out, when is the charBmicrowave?

[charlene]

only 60 minutes difference - and I'd feed ya! lol

[jj]

ok, i need the food...i look like i'm starving (yeah, the skinny elephant look!)

Barker should put me in a crate and send me off the Cal

heading east instead of NE, i can make it to toronto in 90 minutes... summer construction is over and now its just back to the usual 401 congestion

[charlene]

After seeing some info about the TIFF festival I noted there wasn't a mention of this doc..so I asked about it and this is the reply. They didn't say there wouldn't be one so I'm assuming there will be one!
"Hi! We'll be revealing more #TIFF14 titles on August 12, and even more in the weeks leading up to Festival."

[charlene]

Martha Kehoe - producer sent this message to me: we are hoping for TIFF2015 for Lightfoot still in development at present.

[jj]

good follow up ( and memory!) … i thought when they said "next year" in Oct 2013, that would meant TIFF14, ugh

[charlene]

"I've been gifted to be able to create songs." - Gordon Lightfoot - https://vimeo.com/88273275

[JBrew]

How true-he really is gifted, and thanks for sharing his gift with all of us!

[Dan O'Malley]

Is this a trailer for the movie that was due to play the Toronto film festival last year? It looks like it! Great stuff!

[charlene]

I believe it is - I was just going to merge this with the original post...lol..Hopefully this fall it will air. they did tell me it would..

[Dan O'Malley]

I am SO looking forward to this!!