>> Warner/Chappell is protecting their copyrights, as is their legal responsibility. Their attorneys have sent a cease-and-desist letter to all involved with Future/Now Films, who have brought this upon themselves... I'm no saint. I've been to prison, I've been to skid row, I've been homeless and in rehab and have known some shady characters in my day, but rarely have I come across people whose actions have been as cowardly, unprincipled, duplicitous and fundamentally dishonest as Dave Thomas, Laurel Legler and their attorneys...
An Open Letter from Wayne Kramer
from DKT-MC5.com website - April 1, 2004
>> Laurel Legler, whose nine-year film project languishes in limbo, counters, “I disagree with everything that comes out of Wayne Kramer’s mouth, because he doesn’t tell the truth. We never reneged on agreements with Wayne Kramer. We tried to give him everything he wanted.”
Reprise by John Sinclair
from Metro Times, Detroit - June 9, 2004
>> "It's a shame," says Patti Smith, who had two children with the guitarist [Fred "Sonic" Smith]. "I understand from my son [Jackson] that it's a wonderful movie, and I support it. It's being blocked by Wayne Kramer, and I think that's unfortunate. My son is one of the true guardians of his father's name, and he felt that the movie served his father well, and he was hoping that it would come out. These things are always a shame, when someone is trying to do something good and it gets tainted by greed."
Once More With Feeling by Greg Kot
from Chicago Tribune - May 30, 2004)
>> The arguments on both sides are complex and passionate... Kramer says the filmmakers are trying to rip him off; the filmmakers say Kramer is trying to shake them down...
Says Thomas: "People will get to see this movie eventually; we didn't spend seven years to roll over because there were some legal problems. I don't really think it's Wayne that we have to work it out with, it's actually Warner Music [the MC5's former record company] and Warner/Chappell [its publishing company].
Squabble Has Release OF MC5 Film On Hold by Jim DeRogatis
from Chicago Sun-Times - June 11, 2004
>> [MC5 - A True Testimonial] comes closer to capturing the explosive madness of that musical era than memory ever could. During more than six years of research and shooting, Chicago filmmakers David C. Thomas and Laurel Legler enjoyed full cooperation from the three surviving five and imbued the project with the labor-of-love devotion the band deserves.
A New York Times review by Elvis Mitchell on the eve of release (April 23, 2004) heralded the film as a "riveting, all-elbows-and-knuckles documentary" about a band committed to "delivering body blows to the dozing status quo."
Unfortunately for fans of the band and music lovers in general, a dispute between Wayne Kramer and the filmmakers over musical rights blocked the release at the last minute, with no sign of a resolution a year later...
The dispute drew blood from wounds that had never completely healed, with Tyner's widow Rebecca Derminer (also featured in the movie) taking the side of the filmmakers and Patti Smith and son Jackson expressing resentment toward Kramer as well. The band's legacy was very much the legacy of these two men, a legacy honored by the film that a squabble over money would suppress... Antagonism intensified with Kramer's release that summer of a concert DVD titled A Sonic Revolution: A Celebration of the MC5.
from Kick Out The Jams
by Don McLeese - (Continuum Books - 33 1/3 series)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> "It's important for us to remember that there's really one issue here," says Legler. "It's not that complicated. They got this deal with Image Entertainment to put out the Sonic Revolution DVD, and in order to do so and capitalize on whatever MC5 money might be out there, they had to block the release of this film. It's about their DVD versus our film, and everything else is some kind of smoke screen. If they didn't have that deal they would not be doing this."
The MC5 Movie You May Never See by Peter Margasak
from The Reader, Chicago - April 23, 2004
“I said to Laurel and David all along, their journey has so paralleled that of the MC5,” says Tyner’s widow Becky. “Now we’re at the breakup of the MC5. The bully tactics, the pressure. It’s almost cosmic...”
Jackson Smith, the Detroit-based musician son of Fred and Patti Smith, is also disappointed that release of “A True Testimonial” is being held up.
“It’s a travesty that it would be blocked,” Smith says. “It’s a great document of the band, it’s a great document of life, and it’s a great document of things ... far and beyond the band...”
Famed Grande Ballroom poster artist Gary Grimshaw, who recently moved back to Detroit from San Francisco, is “disturbed” by Kramer’s opposition to the film. Grimshaw did the cover graphics for the “True Testimonial” film, as well as for Kramer’s film. “I had no idea when I did that for him that there was going to be any problem, that Wayne would set it up as the only authorized MC5 movie as opposed to ‘A True Testimonial.’ If I’d known, I don’t think I would have done the cover for him.”
MC5 In Turmoil Yet Again by Susan Whitall
from Detroit News - March 31, 2004
"Sometimes we don't see ourselves as we really are, sometimes we need an outsider to cut through the bullshit and portray the truth. Sometimes there is no truth, all you have is what's in the moment. Maybe the parties involved are too close to it. Because the end was painful. The end of the band was painful, and the end of the movie is painful because it shows the truth. And the truth is not grand or pretty or triumphant. The end is sad. The end is about drugs and desperation and falling apart.
But it is what happened. And there is a certain dignity in letting the truth be what it is and telling the past simply, without embellishment. While watching the movie, I thought to myself: no matter where any of you guys are now, you can look at yourself in the mirror every single day and say, I was in the MC5. I made history. I changed rock and roll. End of story. No matter what you wanted to have happened, no matter if the band crashed and burned before its time, no matter if you didnt achieve what you thought the band had the potential of achieving. You were still the fucking MC5 and YOU CHANGED THE WORLD. I realize that doesn't solve arguments or doesn't pay the bills, but I wish it could provide them with some kind of inner peace or tranquility or resolve or at least smug satisfaction."
The MC5: A True Testimonial by Caryn Rose
from jukeboxgraduate.com - April 30, 2004)
"That's the confusion that's always held people back on this planet. Everybody is involved with all this bizarre confusion and stirring up all kinds of lies and misinformation..." - Rob Tyner
“We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law." - Edward R. Murrow
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
§ DAVID THOMAS, LAUREL LEGLER AND FUTURE/NOW FILMS FREE AT LAST???
"It's good to remember the 60's, but some say if you remember the 60's you weren't there. Perhaps to assist all of us in remembering the 60's, Defendants David Thomas and Laurel Legler made a film on the MC5, a 60's Detroit Rock and Roll band that made its mark on American history with loud rock and roll and radical perceptions positing an imperialistic and materialistic America. This lawsuit teaches that materialism remains with us, as Plaintiffs vigorously seek money from Defendants. Although the MC5 faded away largely due to drugs, the band lingers on in the memory of many, and would be known to many other but for pending legal feuds."
The Honorable Andrew J Guilford, United States District Judge
Findings Of Fact And Conclusions Of Law, issued March 31, 2007
DETROIT TANGO SYNOPSIS: To briefly summarize this case, Wayne Kramer, Margaret Saadi Kramer and Muscletone, Inc. sought damages for copyright infringement, breach of contract, fraud and related claims. "After reviewing the facts at trial, focusing on the conduct of the parties as Thomas and Legler were investing time and money into making the Film, the Court concluded the facts made it inequitable, unfair and improper to award any recovery against Future/Now on copyright related claims and that the required elements of an enforceable contract or a quantum meruit or fraud claim were not met."
The Court also found that 14 of the 15 compositions were co-owned by the widows and heirs of Rob Tyner and Fred "Sonic" Smith, who each had granted permission for use of those songs. The remaining copyright issue involved only the song "Poison; Kramer argued he was assigned the rights to "Poison", and claimed the use of "Poison" in the film created a copyright infringement. The Court disagreed, finding that "Poison" was "an insignificant part of the Film."
>> VINCENT COX, FUTURE/NOW ATTORNEY: When did you first learn that Warner/Chappell would refuse to license a composition for use in a film if a songwriter objected?
WAYNE KRAMER: I heard a story over there about sometimes a filmmaker wants to use a musician's song in his movie, but, for whatever reason, the musician doesn't want the song in the movie. It happens from time to time. The filmmaker, then, usually buys the songwriter a Cadillac or offers him a great deal of money. They never attack the songwriter.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTINUE TO: CLOSING ARGUMENT: VINCENT COX, ON BEHALF OF FUTURE/NOW FILMS.------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disclaimer: The information posted on-line at Detroit Tango is for non-commercial educational purposes only and designed to provide accurate and authoritative information regarding the subject matter covered. It is provided with the understanding that it be used solely for comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research.
I hope to see the film now!
Posted by: Steve Tennent | 2007.04.06 at 06:23 PM
As a fan of the MC 5 I will be happy to view the film.
I would hope the proceeds find their way to the filmakers, the remaining band members & the surviving family members.
Kick out the jams in memory of Brother Rob & Sonic Smith.
Posted by: Tom Skinner | 2007.04.07 at 01:16 AM