I have to admit that this post is a little long, however I have a lot of thoughts about this project. I divided the thread into two parts, so if you get bored with one please skip ahead and read the next.
According to several Interviews, Rammstein are planning a full feature documentary about themselves. The documentary is as far as we know set to be released in theatres, and the current director is said to be Jonas Åkerlund. Åkerlund told us in an interview with Vice that the production has already started and he is aiming for a possible late 2015 release. Richard Kruspe has recently said in an interview that the movie is about "Rammstein in America". This could mean that the journalist(s) who wrote the big ""Wer zu Lebzeit gut auf Erden" article in Süddeutsche Zeitung in 2012, followed them on their 2012 North-America tour with a camera crew. However, the band could also have filmed their preparation for the 2010 New York concert or the 2011 US tour. It is also said that in 2008-2009 the Band filmed their recording of "Liebe ist für alle da", and some artists like Avenged Sevenfold said that they were interviewed and asked to comment on their opinions regarding Rammstein by the band´s film crew.
Choice of Director
I have to say that there is already one thing that bothers me. Jonas Åkerlund has made some spectacular music videos and his Madonna documentary "I`m Going to Tell You a Secret" was actually in my opinion not that bad. However Richard Kruspe once mentioned in 2005 that German Director Werner Herzog was interested in directing a documentary about them. This is true since Herzog once said that Rammstein were one of the 5 artist which he ever bothered to see live (just to put that in retrospective, the man is 72 years old). In my opinion Herzog is one of the best directors still in business alongside Spielberg, Scorsese, Lynch and Scott. His documentaries include "Grizzly Man", "Encounters at the end of the World" and "Into the Abyss" etc. I think they are all masterpieces and Herzog certainly has a extraordinary style and talent when it comes to making movies. If you have not watched anything by Herzog, you can get a quick introduction to his style by watching his 30 minute short film "From One Second To The Next" which he released for free on Youtube (Link).
The reason why I prefer Herzog over Åkerlund as Director, is simply because I think Herzog could really give us a deep and artistic look into Rammstein which we have never seen before. One might argue that a Rammstein documentary by Herzog is impossible, since he as far as we know has not filmed the band in the last couple of years (or at any time). However, one should take in consideration that a lot of Herzog´s documentaries consist of footage which he himself has not shot. "Grizzly Man" for instance was for the most part made out of the 2000 hours of footage which Timothy Treadwell filmed himself when he was outside with the bears (and the one who probably killed him in the end). Bottom line, I would prefer if Åkerlund would step back as director, and instead be the film´s producer while Herzog directs and possibly edits. In case Herzog would direct, we would possibly have to wait a year longer for the film to be released, since Herzog is currently releasing his biopic on Getrude Bell "Queen of the Desert" starring Nicole Kidman, and also has a project with Mike Tyson and Pamela Anderson (...don`t even ask me about that).
Is this movie the product of a long ownership/copyright conflict?
If you are familiar with anything I am about to tell you in this text, you are a sad, lonely and depressing ultra-Rammstein-fan like me (only joking, however this is some really nerdy stuff). In early 2012 independent German filmmaker Carl G. Hardt sent a letter to the Austrian Rammstein fan club. In the letter he told us about the fact that he finally wants to release his documentary "ACHTUNG WIR KOMMEN - Rammstein 1994". The movie supposedly contains old footage of Rammstein from 1993-1994, including the transition from Feeling B to Rammstein, recording of "Herzeleid" and the earliest tour rehearsals and concerts. Hardt has a passion for 70s and 80s East-German punk and metal bands. He previously released a movie about Feeling B which he filmed in the 80s.
In the letter, he mentioned that he had completed a 15 hour rough cut, but wanted to cut it down into a three part series on DVD and release it worldwide. For a long time now, Hardt wanted to release this movie. When he finished filming Rammstein during their production, he gave the footage to the German TV channel MDR. They thought the material wasnt very interesting, and only used it for a 11 minute short report. Later on when the band became more popular, he suggested to complete the movie. Oddly enough, Rammstein´s management were for unknown reasons infuriated by this, and there were some extremely convoluted ownership arguments between Hardt and Rammstein´s ex-manager Emmanuel Fialik. At some point they even tried to sue him. This left Carl Hardt with a bad taste in his mouth, and he didn´t care about the project anymore. Later on, he heard about Rammstein rearranging their management staff. He then tried to get in touch with the band to settle down on a cooperation. However after 3 years of sending E-mails and calling record companies, he gave up. It seems like the current managers are still irritated at the idea that he owns highly valuable material from the band.
The letter which I mentioned earlier, was the last time I heard anything from Hardt. I occasionally spend each month some time to just pick up any fragments of information about the movie´s current status. Unlikely as it may seem, I made a breakthrough in Autumn 2014. I found a tiny microcopic advertisment in a Dresden newspaper which announced a closed screening for .... wait for it.... "1994 - The Rammstein Story" - Directed and presented by Carl G. Hardt. So maybe we will see his project surface in the near future.
Now here comes the ugly part. In Hollywood (or the movie business in general) there is a golden rule among producers and managers. If you discover that another studio is working on a movie that has a smiliar plot, setting or subject matter like your movie, you instantly start a race and finish your movie as quick as possible. The idea being that people will not bother to see two or more similar movies in a short period of time. So you have to get quickly finished so that people will watch your movie. A perfect example of this are all the movies about racism and slavery that came out in late 2012/ early 2013. In a short period of time "Lincoln", "12 Years a Slave", "Django Unchained" and "Mandela" were released. "Mandela" was the last one on the list and only made about 12 million dollars worldwide. It was considered to be the biggest box office flop of 2013. The reason behind this is very obvious. People were most likely just tired of watching so many depressing movies about racism.
Now I dont want to jump to any conclusions, but it seems like this is what Rammstein´s management are trying to do. They maybe want to steal all the attention from Hardt`s movie by releasing several live DVD`s and a full feature documentary in a short period of time, right before he releases his project. In this way, Hardt will fail to obtain the attention needed to distribute or finance the movie, since by then even many hardcore Rammstein fans are tired of all the films about the band being released.
I stress to note that everything written above is only a theory that I have. Maybe it is just a coincidence that Hardt´s independent documentary and Åkerlund´s official are arriving at the same time. Maybe the band is not aware of Hardt´s project. Maybe the managment is not that difficult at all. However, I do have to admit that a few things make me suspicious. In addition, the band itself once mentioned the fact that their managers can get a little strict. In the end I have to say that I don´t want to point any fingers, or blame anyone for anything. I just had some thoughts that i liked to share.
I am sorry for forcing you to read this much, but I had a lot to say about this topic. I also apologize for my grammatical errors and broken English (I am not a native speaker).
According to several Interviews, Rammstein are planning a full feature documentary about themselves. The documentary is as far as we know set to be released in theatres, and the current director is said to be Jonas Åkerlund. Åkerlund told us in an interview with Vice that the production has already started and he is aiming for a possible late 2015 release. Richard Kruspe has recently said in an interview that the movie is about "Rammstein in America". This could mean that the journalist(s) who wrote the big ""Wer zu Lebzeit gut auf Erden" article in Süddeutsche Zeitung in 2012, followed them on their 2012 North-America tour with a camera crew. However, the band could also have filmed their preparation for the 2010 New York concert or the 2011 US tour. It is also said that in 2008-2009 the Band filmed their recording of "Liebe ist für alle da", and some artists like Avenged Sevenfold said that they were interviewed and asked to comment on their opinions regarding Rammstein by the band´s film crew.
Choice of Director
I have to say that there is already one thing that bothers me. Jonas Åkerlund has made some spectacular music videos and his Madonna documentary "I`m Going to Tell You a Secret" was actually in my opinion not that bad. However Richard Kruspe once mentioned in 2005 that German Director Werner Herzog was interested in directing a documentary about them. This is true since Herzog once said that Rammstein were one of the 5 artist which he ever bothered to see live (just to put that in retrospective, the man is 72 years old). In my opinion Herzog is one of the best directors still in business alongside Spielberg, Scorsese, Lynch and Scott. His documentaries include "Grizzly Man", "Encounters at the end of the World" and "Into the Abyss" etc. I think they are all masterpieces and Herzog certainly has a extraordinary style and talent when it comes to making movies. If you have not watched anything by Herzog, you can get a quick introduction to his style by watching his 30 minute short film "From One Second To The Next" which he released for free on Youtube (Link).
The reason why I prefer Herzog over Åkerlund as Director, is simply because I think Herzog could really give us a deep and artistic look into Rammstein which we have never seen before. One might argue that a Rammstein documentary by Herzog is impossible, since he as far as we know has not filmed the band in the last couple of years (or at any time). However, one should take in consideration that a lot of Herzog´s documentaries consist of footage which he himself has not shot. "Grizzly Man" for instance was for the most part made out of the 2000 hours of footage which Timothy Treadwell filmed himself when he was outside with the bears (and the one who probably killed him in the end). Bottom line, I would prefer if Åkerlund would step back as director, and instead be the film´s producer while Herzog directs and possibly edits. In case Herzog would direct, we would possibly have to wait a year longer for the film to be released, since Herzog is currently releasing his biopic on Getrude Bell "Queen of the Desert" starring Nicole Kidman, and also has a project with Mike Tyson and Pamela Anderson (...don`t even ask me about that).
Is this movie the product of a long ownership/copyright conflict?
If you are familiar with anything I am about to tell you in this text, you are a sad, lonely and depressing ultra-Rammstein-fan like me (only joking, however this is some really nerdy stuff). In early 2012 independent German filmmaker Carl G. Hardt sent a letter to the Austrian Rammstein fan club. In the letter he told us about the fact that he finally wants to release his documentary "ACHTUNG WIR KOMMEN - Rammstein 1994". The movie supposedly contains old footage of Rammstein from 1993-1994, including the transition from Feeling B to Rammstein, recording of "Herzeleid" and the earliest tour rehearsals and concerts. Hardt has a passion for 70s and 80s East-German punk and metal bands. He previously released a movie about Feeling B which he filmed in the 80s.
In the letter, he mentioned that he had completed a 15 hour rough cut, but wanted to cut it down into a three part series on DVD and release it worldwide. For a long time now, Hardt wanted to release this movie. When he finished filming Rammstein during their production, he gave the footage to the German TV channel MDR. They thought the material wasnt very interesting, and only used it for a 11 minute short report. Later on when the band became more popular, he suggested to complete the movie. Oddly enough, Rammstein´s management were for unknown reasons infuriated by this, and there were some extremely convoluted ownership arguments between Hardt and Rammstein´s ex-manager Emmanuel Fialik. At some point they even tried to sue him. This left Carl Hardt with a bad taste in his mouth, and he didn´t care about the project anymore. Later on, he heard about Rammstein rearranging their management staff. He then tried to get in touch with the band to settle down on a cooperation. However after 3 years of sending E-mails and calling record companies, he gave up. It seems like the current managers are still irritated at the idea that he owns highly valuable material from the band.
The letter which I mentioned earlier, was the last time I heard anything from Hardt. I occasionally spend each month some time to just pick up any fragments of information about the movie´s current status. Unlikely as it may seem, I made a breakthrough in Autumn 2014. I found a tiny microcopic advertisment in a Dresden newspaper which announced a closed screening for .... wait for it.... "1994 - The Rammstein Story" - Directed and presented by Carl G. Hardt. So maybe we will see his project surface in the near future.
Now here comes the ugly part. In Hollywood (or the movie business in general) there is a golden rule among producers and managers. If you discover that another studio is working on a movie that has a smiliar plot, setting or subject matter like your movie, you instantly start a race and finish your movie as quick as possible. The idea being that people will not bother to see two or more similar movies in a short period of time. So you have to get quickly finished so that people will watch your movie. A perfect example of this are all the movies about racism and slavery that came out in late 2012/ early 2013. In a short period of time "Lincoln", "12 Years a Slave", "Django Unchained" and "Mandela" were released. "Mandela" was the last one on the list and only made about 12 million dollars worldwide. It was considered to be the biggest box office flop of 2013. The reason behind this is very obvious. People were most likely just tired of watching so many depressing movies about racism.
Now I dont want to jump to any conclusions, but it seems like this is what Rammstein´s management are trying to do. They maybe want to steal all the attention from Hardt`s movie by releasing several live DVD`s and a full feature documentary in a short period of time, right before he releases his project. In this way, Hardt will fail to obtain the attention needed to distribute or finance the movie, since by then even many hardcore Rammstein fans are tired of all the films about the band being released.
I stress to note that everything written above is only a theory that I have. Maybe it is just a coincidence that Hardt´s independent documentary and Åkerlund´s official are arriving at the same time. Maybe the band is not aware of Hardt´s project. Maybe the managment is not that difficult at all. However, I do have to admit that a few things make me suspicious. In addition, the band itself once mentioned the fact that their managers can get a little strict. In the end I have to say that I don´t want to point any fingers, or blame anyone for anything. I just had some thoughts that i liked to share.
I am sorry for forcing you to read this much, but I had a lot to say about this topic. I also apologize for my grammatical errors and broken English (I am not a native speaker).
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