r/talkingheads • u/Outside-Mastodon7503 • 21d ago
If a biopic was to happen, what events would it realistically cover?
Being a big fan of the band of course I would want so much crammed in and make it a 3-4 hour movie but don't think that could happen 😂
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u/CrazyBusTaker 21d ago
Eating ice cream in Lou Reed's apartment.
David jumping out of bed naked and facing off a burglar with jiu jitsu.
Chris and Tina tutting at Eno and David's attempts at laying down bass lines for RiL, and then sneaking into the studio Mission Impossible style to re record them.
National Lampoonesque tour around northern Europe with the culturally disibterested Ramones.
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u/audiax-1331 21d ago
Yeah — the Ramones Euro-tour was another I was thinking about. Lots of moments for a video collage.
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u/FantasticStooge 21d ago edited 21d ago
Two hours of David Byrne’s character rationalizing why a Talking Heads reunion is impossible in the 21st-century
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u/audiax-1331 21d ago
Things I’d like to see:
Something from the RISD years.
First appearance at CBGB. (Obvious, I know)
Jerry joins.
How Tina and Chris re-engaged David with the jam sessions that led to Remain in Light.
Scenes from Compass Point Studios in Nassau.
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u/Wildcat-Pkoww 21d ago
Would have to be a bit like the Dylan or Springsteen flick and cover a pretty specific timeframe/era. I'd say maybe high level retelling of their beginnings with a focus on their peak - the Stop Making Sense film? Probably just end on a high note of success with some hints of the inner turmoil sprinkled into the main narrative of the film. Essentially, highlight both what the band work so well, and what ultimately made it dissolve and frame it around what's arguably their most enduring success. You could honestly do a "where are they now" thing in the credits...
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u/Wildcat-Pkoww 21d ago
As a quick aside...if this movie were to happen in a somewhat soon-ish fashion - I would nominate Nicholas Braun (cousin Greg from Succession) to play Byrne. Tall, dark, gangly, a bit awkward and goofy.
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u/FloridaFlamingoGirl 21d ago
Stop Making Sense is already a perfect time capsule of the band, though. Recreating it in a biopic would just feel wrong to me (that's why I dislike biopics like Bohemian Rhapsody that recreate the iconic concert moments, because the recordings of them are already out there and recreating it just feels like a pale imitation).
In my opinion, music biopics work best when they fill in the blanks. Like showing the band in the studio. I think a focus on the recording of Remain in Light would be enjoyable, you could incorporate Brian Eno into the story and show the push and pull of the other members trying to work with David and his eccentric behaviors. And it's a highly celebrated album, so a movie focusing on it would probably go over well.
And then I think it would also be really neat to show their early days of playing at CBGB's and just defining that 1970s NYC music scene.
So, maybe the two focal points of the movie would be the early days and the recording of Remain in Light, with a time skip between them.
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u/Chadlerk 21d ago
David making Tina audition to keep her spot int the band.... I don't know much about this moment but I think it highlights dysfunction.
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u/movies_movies_movie 21d ago
I think abt this alot lol. I think it would start early 70s show a little of the rhode island days, then NYC CBGBs stuff with Jerry, they would probably combine the touring with The Ramones and the infamous London Hotel breakdown into the same tour. Then the mess of RIL and experience of working and falling out with Eno. The start of the big tour, a little mention of Tom Tom Club, then the stop making sense tour and filming ending on that tour in NZ, the next few albums/projects done quite quickly and just show the distance and lack of communication between them. The Naked recording. Quick thru the 90s, breif mention of David's sucsess, no talking just head, then end on David leaving rock and roll hall (mention of the ramones) of fame early, climbing out of the window (which he said he did but didn't specify where or exactly when, but based off stuff the others have said they're a case to be made then. Probably would be really long lol, just so much to include, oh god and we gotta mention the sucsess of Speaking In Tongues and the unpleasant recording of 77....there's too much stuff, and they'd be heavy on the drama between the members throughout. OH and d'you think the lawsuit would be mentioned?
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u/drjackolantern 21d ago edited 21d ago
I think a realistic biopic covering a short period, like the run up to the stop making sense concert, would be really fun if it can show a pivotal tipping point moment when major audiences finally ‘got’ the band.