The highly anticipated documentary series The Beatles – Get Back Ready to Go is now available. The filmmaker shares all the information Danielle de Wolfe needs.
Although his name is instantly associated with Lord Of The Rings and Peter Jackson, the filmmaker has taken on a completely different project with The Beatles: Get back.
Born in New Zealand, a world from the heights of Beatlemania in Britain in the 1960s, the 60-year old Oscar-winning director fell in love with Liverpool bands when he was just a few dollars and the purchase of Red and Blue compilation albums.
The convergence of the two worlds of leisure and work didn’t happen until 2017, when Apple Corps, the company responsible for managing The Beatles’ creative and commercial interests approached Jackson to ask if he would consider using previously unreleased footage from their vaults.
The three-part Disney+ documentary explores the making of Let It Be by the Beatles.
WHY WERE YOU THE RIGHT DIRECTOR OF THIS PREVIOUS PROJECT?
Because you have to deal with so many material (130, 140, 150 hours) I believe the person who did this had to be a Beatles fan. The sound tapes were simply rolling almost every minute. Stock was more expensive than audio so sound recorders would roll quarter-inch tapes. However, the cameras were simply turned on and off occasionally. To understand and decipher the references made in the conversations, the person who did it had to be a Beatles fan.
TRAWLING THRU PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED TAPES MUST HAVE PROVED EXCITING?
These conversations are from 1969. You’re listening in on them, which is exactly how I felt the past four years of working on this. It’s strange. The audio recordings often tell the story, so it feels like I’m listening in on conversations from 52 years ago.
THE BEATLES: GET BACK IS MORE THAN JUST ‘THE MAKING OF LET IT BE’, ISN’T IT?
It tells the story about the making of Let It Be. But technically, it isn’t because they also perform a lot more songs than Let It Be. Twelve tracks are from the Abbey Road album. There are 17 tracks on Abbey Road. It was released September 1969. There are probably eight to ten tracks from their solo album.
Is it strange to think that the BEATLES walked into the STUDIO with NEXT TO NO PLANS?
It is not my nature to criticize the Beatles. If I were to criticize the Beatles, however, the footage does make me wonder if there is any organization. Part of the story behind Get Back is that they wanted to do this live TV show. Not the rooftop one. It’s completely different. This is not a recording. They are not recording until they perform, but they are rehearsing.
WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU HAVE EVER HEARD?
They engage in a wonderful running match with Michael Lindsay-Hogg (Let It Be director). Michael is determined capture as much candid material possible. Instead of saying “Look Michael, if you’re going to be recorded on film”, they said, “We’ll do our things but we don’t want you filming or recording us any other times.” John [Lennon] or George [Harrison] used the technique of turning up their amps loudly when they were speaking. They would strum their guitars, but not play any tunes. So all Michael’s microphones were recording was the loud guitar. You’d also see the Beatles having a private conversation. They were in a running battle.
WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU HAVE EVER HEARD?
They engage in a wonderful running match with Michael Lindsay-Hogg (Let It Be director). Michael is determined capture as much candid material possible. Instead of saying “Look Michael, if you’re going to be recorded on film”, they said, “We’ll do our things but we don’t want you filming or recording us any other times.” John [Lennon] or George [Harrison] used the technique of turning up their amps loudly when they were speaking. They would strum their guitars, but not play any tunes. So all Michael’s microphones were recording was the loud guitar. You’d also see the Beatles having a private conversation. They were in a running battle.
EVER QUESTIONED THE FEEDBACK YOU’D RECEIVE DIRECTLY FROM THE SURVIVING BAND MEMBERS?
It’s clear that they don’t care about their image anymore. I expected notes when they saw the final product. It wouldn’t surprise me and it wouldn’t have made it any more frustrating. It would have been perfectly normal to receive a note saying, “Oh, that part where I say this, could you trim that?” I didn’t get one note. Surprised! I didn’t receive one note. There was not one request for anything.
WHAT IS THE MOST INTERESTING DISCOVERY YOU HAVE MADE?
Although I don’t consider myself a musician, and can’t even play an instrument, it was fascinating to see the song-writing process through the eyes of The Beatles. It’s a fascinating process with Get Back. They have Jo-Jo, who lives in Arizona. But they want Jo to have an actual surname. They discuss Jo Jackson, Jo Martin and Jo who lives here in Arizona. They then get rid of their surname and add Tucson, Arizona. They can have Tucson, Arizona, but they cannot have the surname. Even I, who have no musical knowledge, agree that it flows a lot better. Is Tucson Arizona? Yes, it’s there that [the Western] High Chaparral was shot. When I hear Tucson, Arizona now, I think of The High Chaparral which I watched as a child in 1969.
Get Back launches on Disney+ Thursday, November 25, 2015.
