What do Donna Summer, Parliament, Gladys Knight, The IsleyBrothers, The Village People, and Bill Withers all have in common with the rock band KISS? They all rose to their musical heights under the watchful ear of the music industry’s most colorful and brilliant music producer, Neil Bogart, founder of Casablanca Records, the most successful independent record company of all time.
Along with a ragtag team of young music lovers, Neil and Casablanca Records would rewrite history and change the music industry forever. Their mix of creative insanity, a total belief in each other and the music they were creating, shaped our culture and ultimately defined a generation. In a story so unbelievable that it can only be true, comes the motion picture event of the musical journey of Neil Bogart and how his Casablanca Records created the greatest soundtrack of our lives.
Now decades later, the life of Neil Bogart is being turned into a biopic film “Spinning Gold.” The film is a narrative feature about Neil’s life and how discovered some some of the biggest musical acts of the 1970s with his music label, Casablanca Records.
The Home Grown Radio team was in attendance at Spinning Gold’s Los Angeles red carpet premiere, where we talked with some of the cast members about the highly-anticipated film. “Spinning Gold” was written and directed by Neil Bogart’s eldest son, Tim Bogart and produced by his youngest son, Evan Bogart.
“He brought so many incredible artists to the world that that still resonate today and to be able to introduce him now as the man who was involved in what’s kind of lost to history,” Evan told Home Grown Radio. “He died when he was 39 and so he’s not he’s not remembered when people talk about those artists in the same way and that you’re like really in the industry like deep in the industry and so I think it was important for us to tell her story and I also think it’s inspiring you know his belief in these artists is something that people need to hear these days.”
The film also features an all-star cast including Tony Award nominee Jeremy Jordan, Michelle Monaghan, Jay Pharoah, Tony Award winner Dan Fogler, Jason Isaacs, Lyndsy Fonseca, Chris Redd, Casey Likes, and comedian/actor Sebastian Maniscalco.
Some of today’s hottest music stars also play the icons who inspired them and singing their most popular songs including Wiz Khalifa as George Clinton, Jason Derulo as Ron Isley of the Isley Brothers, Pink Sweat$ as Bill Withers, Grammy Award nominee Tayla Parx as Donna Summer and multi-Grammy winner Ledisi as Gladys Knight.
Jeremy Jordan, who plays Neil Bogart says the film does justice to Bogart himself.
“I think what we kind of did with this film is that we told it from Neil’s perspective even though he died in the early 80s,” said Jordan. “Because Neil was such a showman and that was at his core he wants to tell this story in the most fun and flashy and exciting way possible and I don’t think he would have wanted his life story to be told in any other way so even though we kind of are a little extravagant at times I think we really stay true to his spirit.
“Spinning Gold” is in theaters this Friday, March 31st.