Jimi Hendrix Died Today... Updates On Andre Benjamin's 'All Is By My Side' (Official Synopsis)

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• Nemesis | September 18, 2012 4:14 PMReply

  I get the righteous indignation, especially if you're a Hendrix fan but... really, permission to be creative? Being creative is thinking outside the box, or building your own box, especially when "people in authority" tell you that you can't. The Hendrix estate can make their own movie if they're so inclined. Either way, you'll still end up with someone else's vision and interpretation of Hendrix.

• Xi | September 18, 2012 3:32 PMReply

  Damn, Dre. I'll leave that there.

• Donella | September 18, 2012 1:09 PMReply

  I wonder if this movie will touch on the little-known fact that Jimi Hendrix got his start as a member of Little Richard's band. They want to talk about the Beatles and Eric Clapton. Sure. Why not? But people act like they never knew Hendrix's earliest influence was LITTLE RICHARD. I'm so tired of early North American rockers acting like they have no idea where rock music really came from. Tell the story the way it happened.

• Charles Judson | September 19, 2012 9:10 AM

  He's associated with a lot of acts, including the Isley Brothers. Little Richard is the one he's most connected to from the early days since he's been quoted as saying he wanted to emulate with his guitar what Richard did with his voice. And also frankly because of all the acts, Little Richard is still the most famous, and influential act, of them all. But the story is set in 1966-1697 in London, not 1965 L.A., not 1965 on the Chitlin Circuit. There's a lot about anyone's story that's down played, however it's natural. How many people know or understand that the idea for the March on Washington goes back to 1941 with A. Philip Randolph? Why is it that people forget or omit that MLK was barely 25-26 when he became a part of the Bus Boycott? Why did it take over 30 years before everyone collectively started adding Rosa Park's early and prominent role in the Civil Rights movement, before her famous arrest, back in to the narrative? A film on Hendrix and his Chitlin' Circuit days with folks like Little Richard could make for an interesting film, especially if the take on it is Hendrix before the mythology starts. Back to the Civil Rights movement, I'm curious that no one seems interested in doing a story on what it must have been like on Morehouse's campus when MLK was there and before that. Just think about all the professors who had been fighting for Civil Rights or just preaching integration for decades on that campus. There's probably a fascinating untold story of folks intellectually and politically jockeying there, especially in a city like Atlanta. But, that's for someone like me to latch on to and run with because it interests me. Not complain that someone else is doing another MLK Marching on Washington or Bus Boycott film. The entire history of Blues and R&B is ripe for storytelling. Hell, I wish someone would go to HBO with a pitch they can't refuse. Payola, Gangsters, Civil Rights Movement, Rock & Roll, TV, Pat "M*therf*cking" Boone. It's prime to tell a juicy multi-year story ala MAD MEN meets BOARDWALK EMPIRE.

• Donella | September 18, 2012 5:48 PM

  I believe Hendrix's association with Little Richard is worth mentioning, instead of ignoring, which it usually is for some reason.

• Charles Judson | September 18, 2012 3:16 PM

  The movie is set in London 1966. He stopped playing with Little Richard in 1965. And Hendrix's solo career really didn't take off till London.

• Firebrand | September 18, 2012 2:59 PM

  That's white Hollywood for ya, always marginalizing black history in their "films".

• Jed Wing | September 18, 2012 12:21 PMReply

  The Hendrix estate is impossible to work with. They aren't out to protect his legacy or merely to get paid. They thrive on power mongering, arrogance and just being plain bleepholes. Some independent jazz musicians made a limited edition pressing - 1000 copies - of jazz versions of Jimi's music and at the last minute the estate swooped right in, after verbal okays had been given, to demand more money than the record could possibly make. The project tanked. Jimi's father was a bit more reasonable, had a sense of proportion - Apple pays millions, independent artists and jazz musicians pay little. The dad had an eye to keeping Jimi's music alive, as opposed to being merely a commodity. Now, the estate is controlled by a younger half-sister, who had no connection to Hendrix or his music, who just want to live fat and to hell with anything else. Soon, the memory of Jimi and his music will fade because of greed and bitchy meanness and a lack of any caring about music.
  
  I held my nose and bought the DVD of all of Jimi's appearances on the Dick Cavett show but that is the only thing I will ever buy from the estate. I respect artists and pay for music, but I REJOICE when I see people downloading Hendrix music for FREE. I have all I need and want, including live bootlegs.
  
  Advertisers: don't use his music, find some other electric blues. Kids: love his music, don't pay for it.
  
  Hendrix estate: get BLEEPED!

• Jimbo | September 25, 2012 7:28 PM

  She is not a "half-sister". She is the adopted daughter of Al's wife. Not related to Jimi at all.