The director spoke with Den of Geek about contradictions and the contradictory musicians who made up Velvet Underground.ĭen of Geek: Were you surprised at all by the pre-Velvet Underground music of Lou Reed or John Cale? He may never have jammed with them, but is nonetheless a card-carrying member of the Velvet Underground movement. Haynes is obviously a fan of the band beyond the sound. It is not an exposé, but an exploration of the band’s music and aesthetic. The Velvet Underground is dedicated to Jonas Mekas, a father of the American avant-garde-film movement, and the film captures the feel of Andy Warhol’s older films. Almost everyone who bought it started a band, as they say. The Velvet Underground’s first album only sold 30,000 copies, but they were the right copies. With John Cale as the centerpiece and Lou Reed providing a structuring absence, the underground art scene of 1960s New York City is not just a character in the film, but a member of the group. We hear from Reed’s sister, Merrill Reed Weiner Warhol Factory artists Mary Woronov and Amy Taubin cult director John Waters and Modern Lovers front man Jonathan Richman. The Velvet Underground only includes interviews with people who knew the band personally during the time they were together. Besides contemporary interviews with John Cale and drummer Maureen Tucker, there is only archival footage of conversations with Reed, guitarist Sterling Morrison and Christa Päffgen – whose stage name was Nico. Haynes had been developing the documentary for several years. For his latest musical transposition, he focused on tones over reinterpretation. Haynes built a story for David Bowie to sit in for Velvet Goldmine, recharacterized Bob Dylan sixfold in I’m Not There, and cast a Barbie Doll as Karen Carpenter in his 2015 biopic Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story. It is the first time he hasn’t put a fictional spin on the musicians he’s committed to celluloid. He tells the story of the band in chronological time, but fills in the blanks by presenting a performance piece of historical art. Vincent and Courtney Barnett.Todd Haynes is more of a conductor than the director of The Velvet Underground. The Velvet Underground & Nico was recently treated to a tribute album by the likes of Michael Stipe, St. Haynes is said to embrace the era's avant-garde spirit with the simply-titled The Velvet Underground, with new in-depth interviews with surviving members (co-founder John Cale, drummer Maureen 'Moe' Tucker) and a treasure trove of archival footage.Ĭheck out the trailer for the film below ahead of its October 15 Apple TV+ debut. It's the first documentary from acclaimed filmmaker Todd Haynes, as well as the first major film to tell the band's iconic story in which the worlds of music, art and film first collided in mid-'60s New York City.Īs previously reported, the Oscar-winner delved into classic rock when he directed 2007's unusual Bob Dylan biopic I'm Not There, which was less of a factual biography than a symbolic one.

That's right - the avant-garde rock giants are set to be explored in their own aptly titled doc, The Velvet Underground, and the first trailer has just landed. Published The Velvet Underground: the art-rock savants that became the namesake of not only a beloved Toronto concert venue, but a documentary distributed by Apple TV+.

The velvet underground stream