Olivia Newton-John biopic

[drakula63]

I've just watched a few minutes of the Olivia Newton-John biopic which has just started on Channel 5. I really don't think they could have found actors who looked any less like the people they were playing. Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch, Brian Bennett, John Rostill and John Farrar have to be seen to be believed. John Rostill, here, looks more like John-Paul Jones. And John Farrar didn't have a beard in 1970. Simple things to check up on. I'm recording it and will watch it all later. Delta Goodrem, although undeniably attractive and a good singer, is no match - in the beauty or voice stakes - for Olivia. This looks like it's going to be filled with inaccuracies... which most people won't notice!

[JimN]

I've just watched a few minutes of the Olivia Newton-John biopic which has just started on Channel 5. I really don't think they could have found actors who looked any less like the people they were playing. Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch, Brian Bennett, John Rostill and John Farrar have to be seen to be believed. John Rostill, here, looks more like John-Paul Jones. And John Farrar didn't have a beard in 1970. Simple things to check up on. I'm recording it and will watch it all later. Delta Goodrem, although undeniably attractive and a good singer, is no match - in the beauty or voice stakes - for Olivia. This looks like it's going to be filled with inaccuracies... which most people won't notice!

Olivia actually met The Shadows in 1966 in London, not 1970. Had it been 1970, she wouldn't have caught Bruce with The Shadows.

But... thanks for the alert, Chris. I set my recorder to catch it on 5+1 and then found that it was already available as a download on the My5 catch-up service.

Irrespective of the likenesses of the actors to the people portrayed, at least this Australian production is trying to tell the story with a little bit of accuracy. I loved the Mosrite guitar and bass on the recreation of the Oz TV music programme - but a Mosrite - even a Celebrity semi-acoustic model - with a Bigsby? Loses the whole point of the Mosrite and the Vibramute tailpiece, sort of... Still. At least the guitar (and the Bigsby) were available.

I'll watch the bulk of the film later, but based on what I've seen, I doubt that Bruce will like being depicted with a generic northern accent, sounding very Liverpudlian!

[Shadbarmy1]

I started to watch it, got totally bored and bemused, then switched channels!

[drakula63]

I've just watched a few minutes of the Olivia Newton-John biopic which has just started on Channel 5. I really don't think they could have found actors who looked any less like the people they were playing. Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch, Brian Bennett, John Rostill and John Farrar have to be seen to be believed. John Rostill, here, looks more like John-Paul Jones. And John Farrar didn't have a beard in 1970. Simple things to check up on. I'm recording it and will watch it all later. Delta Goodrem, although undeniably attractive and a good singer, is no match - in the beauty or voice stakes - for Olivia. This looks like it's going to be filled with inaccuracies... which most people won't notice!

Olivia actually met The Shadows in 1966 in London, not 1970. Had it been 1970, she wouldn't have caught Bruce with The Shadows.

But... thanks for the alert, Chris. I set my recorder to catch it on 5+1 and then found that it was already available as a download on the My5 catch-up service.

Irrespective of the likenesses of the actors to the people portrayed, at least this Australian production is trying to tell the story with a little bit of accuracy. I loved the Mosrite guitar and bass on the recreation of the Oz TV music programme - but a Mosrite - even a Celebrity semi-acoustic model - with a Bigsby? Loses the whole point of the Mosrite and the Vibramute tailpiece, sort of... Still. At least the guitar (and the Bigsby) were available.

I'll watch the bulk of the film later, but based on what I've seen, I doubt that Bruce will like being depicted with a generic northern accent, sounding very Liverpudlian!

Yeah, there is a scene set in 1966 with ON-J meeting the Shads. The other scene I saw seems to be John and Pat arriving in the UK in 1970... with John already sporting the beard he didn't actually grow until 1972/1973. I am filled with apprehension... but I will watch it all later!

[Uncle Fiesta]

I thought it really dragged in places. I'd been watching it for about 3 hours when I realised it was only halfway through.

With regard to the 'non-lookalikes', it's difficult enough finding people of about the right age, who can act, and pretend to sing or play an instrument convincingly, without visually being a carbon copy as well!
Although admittedly I was having difficulty at times, trying to work out who was supposed to be who.

[drakula63]

I thought it really dragged in places. I'd been watching it for about 3 hours when I realised it was only halfway through.

With regard to the 'non-lookalikes', it's difficult enough finding people of about the right age, who can act, and pretend to sing or play an instrument convincingly, without visually being a carbon copy as well!
Although admittedly I was having difficulty at times, trying to work out who was supposed to be who.

Yeah, but, as far as I have seen, there isn't a single scene or minute in the film that has the Shadows 'playing' their instruments. There is one scene, set in 1971, where we see John Rostill (who is only ever referred to as 'Rostill') sitting down and holding a Rickenbacker bass! So all they had to do was find three guys who looked like Hank, Brian and John. The Bruce Welch character is the only one who has had any significant acting scenes. I still find it hilarious that John Rostill is portrayed as someone with long, light brown/blond hair. Actually, it's insulting. Don't these people actually look at photos?

The film seems all over the place. It suggests that Olivia moved to the US in 1974 - when surely it was '75 - and there is no real suggestion of her gradually gaining popularity over a period of years. One minute it's 1974... the next it's 1977 and she's being offered the role of Sandy in Grease. The weirdest bit was when they used an actual clip of Cliff and Olivia singing together and superimposed Delta Goodrem over the real Olivia... this, of course, had the effect of making it all seem even less real. Oh well, I've watched an hour of it and I'll watch the second hour tonight.

[RayL]

A few weeks ago I was on a guided walk of West Hampstead. O N-J lived for a time in Dennington Park Road (off West End Lane)(not far from the Decca studios in Broadhurst Gardens) . A previous resident in Dennington Park Road was Dusty Springfield. Did they ever have each other over for coffee?
Ray

[drakula63]

I watched the remainder of it last night. It's OK, but becomes less interesting during the second hour. It more or less descends into a 'who's got cancer next?' scenario, which isn't much fun to watch.

Only 'Bruce Welch' and 'John Farrar' are credited at the end, no name-checks for Hank, Brian or John. Mind you, neither Hank nor Brian had speaking parts, 'John' had one line, which clearly was not enough to give the actor a credit. John Rostill does get a name-check on the end credits as a composer, but, unlike everyone else, is just credited as J. Rostill, rather than with his full first name. Odd. It's as if they didn't know his name. Add this to the fact that he looks, in the film, about as far away from the real John Rostill as it's possible to get and it all adds up to sloppy research. Although they don't play them, in '1966' he is seen to be holding what looks like a black Fender Precision bass and Bruce is holding what looks like a black Telecaster. There are loads of other errors, but I won't bore you with them.

I'll take a few pics off the TV screen later and post them. Whilst it is a film about Olivia, it's a shame that they couldn't be bothered to take more care over details regarding other 'real' people. Whilst not a bad film, I can't in all honesty recommend it. Most of the reviews on imdb (from viewers) are pretty scathing and they pick up on some of the points I've made, plus the fact that it's all rather disjointed and confusing if you don't already know Olivia's story.

[Uncle Fiesta]

We need to bear in mind that it's a movie for the general public, not a documentary for music maniacs like us.

Having said that, quite a lot was missed out, particularly from the early years. Toomorrow, the '74 Eurovision song contest, and her legal battle with MCA records were all conspicuous by their absence. Any of those would have been more interesting than the bits that were left in.