Tonight comes the first public showings of “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” in movie theaters.
There’s been a ton of publicity for Scott Cooper’s film starring Jeremy Allen White and Jeremy Strong.
Now, will Springsteen fans turn out for it? So far ticket sales are slow, but that could change quickly when word of mouth spreads. “Deliver Me” is a great movie that deserves a wide audience.
A lot is riding on “Deliver Me” to perform well. I’m told by sources that is already building about a potential John Fogerty- Creedence Clearwater Revival movie. It’s unclear if Cooper would direct it, but he should.
A Fogerty movie makes a lot of sense. CCR is still selling huge numbers of records. Sales of albums so far this year (including streaming) are up around 750,000. “Chronicles,” the greatest hits package, is often in the top 20 on iTunes.
It’s amazing because CCR stopped recording in the mid 1970s after a string of hits including “Proud Mary” and “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?”.
But CCR was signed to Fantasy Records, which was bought by movie producer Saul Zaentz. He in turn paid Fogerty pennies for the songs and wouldn’t give him back the masters. Fogerty went into a long legal wrangle and artistic hibernation, only to re-emerge a decade later with solo hits like “Centerfield,” and “The Old Man Down the Road.”
The resurgence of Fogerty and CCR is a classic success story for a movie which would end on a high note. Fogerty — who eventually got his rights back — currently has an album out of CCR songs he re-recorded with his sons.
What would they call the movie? “Who’ll Stop the Rain” maybe. “Big Wheel Keep on Turnin’.” There are plenty of choices.
With movies about Queen, Elton John, Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin, and four Beatles movies in production, a CCR film seems likely. So cross your fingers “Deliver Me from Nowhere” does well. Cooper, who directed Jeff Bridges to an Oscar for “Crazy Hearts,” would be perfect for this one, too.
