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Good Ol'Freda- A movie about the Beatles secretary
29 August 2013
9.33pm
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Zig
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Looks like it’s playing in theaters nowhere near me. Sometimes I hate living in the sticks. blue-meanie

But, as fate would have it, it is playing over an October weekend relatively close to where my family lives in Upstate NY.

ROAD TRIP!! mal-evansneil-aspinall

 

Mod Note: This topic seems like one that would stand on its own as a separate thread as people will start adding to it as they see the film. I do agree with my esteemed colleague, fabfouremily that most articles are best suited for the news thread, but I think this one will be OK. It’s a tough call sometimes, but one day we will all get used to it. If anything, we can probably move this thread to the ‘Films’ section when the capability to do so has been restored.

Z

To the fountain of perpetual mirth, let it roll for all its worth. And all the children boogie.

30 August 2013
12.50pm
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fabfouremily
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^ Thanks for stepping in, Zig. I wasn’t entirely sure this deserved a thread of its own. I see that it’ll be good for everyone to post their opinions in the same place. I’m still learning :)

Moving along in our God given ways, safety is sat by the fire/Sanctuary from these feverish smiles, left with a mark on the door.

(Passover - I. Curtis)

30 August 2013
8.04pm
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parlance
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There’s an interview with Freda in the New York Times.

parlance

Beware of sadness. It can hit you. It can hurt you. Make you sore and what is more, that is not what you are here for. - George

Check out my fan video for Paul's song "Appreciate" at Vimeo or YouTube.

31 August 2013
1.26am
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Zig
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fabfouremily said
^ Thanks for stepping in, Zig. 

It appears I need not have bothered. Thanks very much for taking care of it. mal-evansapple01

I have a great feeling about this film. My Beatley Sense is tingling.a-hard-days-night-ringo-13

To the fountain of perpetual mirth, let it roll for all its worth. And all the children boogie.

1 September 2013
3.51am
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parlance
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I went to Allison Anders’ Don’t Knock the Rock festival screening of the film today, and, yeah, everything they said is true – not a dry eye in the house. The emcee for the Q&A with the crew, Michael Des Barres, practically broke down.

I won’t spoil anything – the film will be available on iTunes on the 6th and on DVD with extras on December 3. But it’s so clear why Freda was regarded so highly and treated like family. She’s A Woman of great warmth and integrity, and we’re very lucky she decided to share her story. And it’s an extraordinary film for humanizing The Beatles and, especially, Brian Epstein.

parlance

Beware of sadness. It can hit you. It can hurt you. Make you sore and what is more, that is not what you are here for. - George

Check out my fan video for Paul's song "Appreciate" at Vimeo or YouTube.

1 September 2013
10.59am
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fabfouremily
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^^ Glad to hear you, and everyone else there, enjoyed it so much. I’m really looking forward to getting this one.

Moving along in our God given ways, safety is sat by the fire/Sanctuary from these feverish smiles, left with a mark on the door.

(Passover - I. Curtis)

1 September 2013
1.04pm
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Linde
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That sounds great! Thanks for sharing.

I can’t wait to get my hands on that dvd!

2 September 2013
6.16pm
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parlance
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There’ll be a Reddit Ask Me Anything with the director and Freda on Thursday the 5th at 2pm EST: http://www.reddit.com/r/AMA

Edit: Questions and answers are all here.

parlance

Beware of sadness. It can hit you. It can hurt you. Make you sore and what is more, that is not what you are here for. - George

Check out my fan video for Paul's song "Appreciate" at Vimeo or YouTube.

8 September 2013
5.03pm
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parlance
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Last night was a Beatley night. After I went to the opening for the Astrid Kircherr exhibit, I went to another screening of “Good Ol’ Freda” at which Freda herself was present for a Q&A, and I got to meet her! She was, as one might imagine, very warm and personable. I thanked her for doing the film. She asked me if I liked it, and I told her absolutely, this was my second time seeing the film and I cried each time. I don’t have any Beatle Books, so I got her and the director, Ryan White, to sign my movie ticket. 

The screening was packed, definitely a hardcore Beatle audience of all ages. Someone asked her if she plans to write a book, and she sidestepped the question (“Let’s get the movie out, let’s get the DVD out first”) but she didn’t rule it out. The director said they did 40 hours of interviews with Freda and had to condense the movie down to 86 minutes. The DVD will have extras, but it sounds like there’s more than enough material for a book!

Here are few photos. I couldn’t get a sharp photo of her with the director from where I was sitting, sorry.

 

20130907_freda_DSC0833Image Enlarger

 

20130907_freda_DSC0841Image Enlarger

 

20130907_freda_DSC0844Image Enlarger

 

BTW, Freda’s going to be on Breakfast with the Beatles this morning. You can listen live here.

parlance

 

The following people thank parlance for this post:

ewe2

Beware of sadness. It can hit you. It can hurt you. Make you sore and what is more, that is not what you are here for. - George

Check out my fan video for Paul's song "Appreciate" at Vimeo or YouTube.

8 September 2013
5.37pm
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HeyTrud
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a-hard-days-night-ringo-8 Wow, Parlance! Sooooo cool!!  I can’t believe you got to meet her! SO exciting apple01  She looks like a real, down-to-earth, sweetheart of a lady.  I bet the movie was awesome too.  You live such a cool life!

"....take a sad song & make it Meilleur"....

8 September 2013
5.48pm
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parlance
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HeyTrud said
a-hard-days-night-ringo-8 Wow, Parlance! Sooooo cool!!  I can’t believe you got to meet her! SO exciting apple01  She looks like a real, down-to-earth, sweetheart of a lady.  I bet the movie was awesome too.  You live such a cool life!

 

Ahahaha, I live a geeky life, I don’t know how cool it is. ;-D But, yes, you’re right, she is a sweetheart. I can’t believe how much publicity she’s got to do for this film – all that she’s been doing so far has been for the US. I think she’s going to be part of the European launch next.

And everyone needs to see the movie! It was even better that second time. Just hearing her talk about the Beatles as her bosses, minus the sycophancy, makes them so much more human than most of the books I’ve read or documentaries I’ve watched so far. And as I mentioned earlier, the film dimensionalizes Brian Epstein beyond the tragic figure we normally think of. 

parlance

Beware of sadness. It can hit you. It can hurt you. Make you sore and what is more, that is not what you are here for. - George

Check out my fan video for Paul's song "Appreciate" at Vimeo or YouTube.

8 September 2013
6.09pm
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Linde
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Wow that’s great! She seems like such a sweet woman. Good to hear the movie was great too. I think what makes it so different from other documentaries is that it’s from a different perspective. 

I’m getting more and more curious.

Edit: Cool that she did the Q&A thing too. There are some interesting things in there. Some people’s reactions are hilarious too. It’s just sad that some people have to ruin it by making inappropriate remarks.

9 September 2013
9.28am
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fabfouremily
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She does seem really sweet, which I guess makes it that much nicer meeting her! You’re lucky, Parlance! :D

Moving along in our God given ways, safety is sat by the fire/Sanctuary from these feverish smiles, left with a mark on the door.

(Passover - I. Curtis)

9 September 2013
3.18pm
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parlance
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^^ Thanks, Emily!

A great review of the movie by Jude Southerland Kessler. I particularly like this paragraph:

Go see this film, I beg you. Take your children to see it. The world right now lacks role models. Freda IS one. She embodies the humility that John and all the Beatles had at the core, in their hearts.

parlance

 

Beware of sadness. It can hit you. It can hurt you. Make you sore and what is more, that is not what you are here for. - George

Check out my fan video for Paul's song "Appreciate" at Vimeo or YouTube.

9 September 2013
5.20pm
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Somehow I missed it when it came to my city, even though I’ve been checking every week to see screening times.

I guess I have to wait for the DVD.  :-(

"If you're ever in the shit, grab my tit.” —Paul McCartney 

10 September 2013
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trcanberra
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Awesome stuff – one more DVD added to my wishlist.  Thanks for all the info and links everyone.

==> trcanberra and hongkonglady - Together even when not (married for those not in the know!) <==

11 September 2013
4.22am
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...ontherun
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Just watched it.  Fantastic!

A square is not a square when the sides are less than four...

11 September 2013
3.15pm
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parlance
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The movie will be making its UK debut at the BFI London Film Festival the weekend of Oct. 19-20. They’re working on getting a UK distributor. [x-posted to the news thread]

parlance

 

Beware of sadness. It can hit you. It can hurt you. Make you sore and what is more, that is not what you are here for. - George

Check out my fan video for Paul's song "Appreciate" at Vimeo or YouTube.

21 September 2013
3.38pm
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parlance
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Great interview  at the Washingtonian with the director Ryan White.

And the film will be playing in DC until the 26th.

parlance

Beware of sadness. It can hit you. It can hurt you. Make you sore and what is more, that is not what you are here for. - George

Check out my fan video for Paul's song "Appreciate" at Vimeo or YouTube.

21 September 2013
5.22pm
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parlance
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Also, screenings in Canada and Brazil have been added to the list.

parlance

Beware of sadness. It can hit you. It can hurt you. Make you sore and what is more, that is not what you are here for. - George

Check out my fan video for Paul's song "Appreciate" at Vimeo or YouTube.

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