Films & Events
Telstar
It’s London in the late 1950s and gay, tone-deaf songwriter-producer Joe Meek has set up a recording studio of sorts in his two-story apartment over a luggage shop: vocals in the bathroom and instruments in the bedroom. He’s obsessed with Buddy Holly and has a strong interest in spiritualism and the occult. His eccentric, workaholic ways are a trial to his band, his principal backer Major Wilfred Banks (Kevin Spacey), and his landlady Mrs. Violet Shenton who bangs on the ceiling when the noise gets to be too much. Joe experiments with studio techniques like distortion and sampling, but he can’t play an instrument or write musical notation. When songwriter Geoff Goddard arrives, the two join forces and the hits start to roll. Based on writer Nick Moran’s West End sensation and starring Con O’Neill in a tour-de-force performance as Meek, Telstar is the story of the music as much as it is of the man. The soundtrack for this tribute to the premier pop producer features original recordings of Meek’s biggest hits, including “Telstar,” “Be-Bop-A-Lula,” “Johnny Remember Me,” and “Have I the Right?”
Sponsors:
KEXP 90.3 Seattle, W Hotel Seattle
Cast & Crew
Director: Nick Moran
Producer: Simon Jordan, David Reid, Adam Bohling
Editor: Alex Marsh
Screenwriter: James Hicks, Nick Moran
Cinematographer: Peter Wignall
Music: Ilan Eshkeri
Principal Cast: Con O’Neill, Kevin Spacey, Pam Ferris, J.J. Feild, James Corden
Filmography: Debut Feature Film
World Sales: Fortissimo Films
Average rating:
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
(3 reviews)
user reviews
-
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Maybe it's just me ..., Jun 06, 2009
By Mimi Noyes
“My first walk-out of the festival! It started off great but shortly before the end I was so utterly disgusted with the story and the character of Joe Meek that I actually got up, crawled over someone, and left. The main character is a loathsome, odious little man, such an utterly unlikeable,”
… full review
-
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
What a waste , Nov 21, 2009
By Chris Thorne
“This film does nothing but a diservice to Joe Meek and what he achieved. Several characters were also misrepresented with stories made up others exagerated. It took £65,000 in the UK mainly to lack lustre audiences sometimes as little as seven. It was withdrawn after a short while to be shown in”
… full review
-
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Patrick Pink, Nov 21, 2009
By patrick pink
“
He influenced a younger generation in the 60s, Joe Meek was so advanced in
sounds ,and was a wizard with electronics , a fantastic record producer
Joe Meek gave every one a chance to make it in the music biz. He was the kindest man I've ever known,and not the bastard as portayed in this film,”
… full review
-
