MAYOR OF THE SUNSET STRIP

Starring
Rodney Bingenheimer
David Bowie
Gwen Stefani
Coldplay
Courtney Love
Oasis
Brian Wilson
The Doors
Cher
Nancy Sinatra
Mick Jagger
Brooke Shields
among many others.

Written and Directed by GEORGE HICKENLOOPER
Produced by CHRIS CARTER, GREG LITTLE, TOMMY PERNA
Executive Produced by DONALD ZUCKERMAN
Edited and Co-produced by JULIE JANATASTARRING
Rodney Bingenheimer
FEATURING
Exene Cervenka
John Doe X
Chris Carter
Courtney Love
Gwen Stefani
Brooke Shields
Kim Fowley
Brian Wilson
Alice Cooper
Michael Des Barres
Pamela Des Barres
Monique Powell
Keanu Reeves
Debbie Harry
George Hickenlooper
LiamGallagher
Noel Gallagher
MacKenzie Phillips
Neil Young
George Wendt
Nancy Sinatra
Pete Townshend
Beck
Joey Ramone
Ray Manzarek
Green Day
Rob Zombie
Jed the Fish
Danny Sugarman
Bing Bingenheimer
Zelda Bingenheimer
Sharon McDonald
Camille Chancery
David Bowie
John Peterson
Neve Campbell
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Ronald Vaughn
Leo Braudy
Cher
Sonny Bono
Suzanne Jenkins
Bob George
Steve Jenkins
Domenic Priore
The Mamas and The Papas
Davy Jones
The Monkees
Jerry Lee Lewis
The Four Seasons
Mick Jagger
Miss Mercy
The GTOs
The Doors
John Lennon
Linda Ronstadt
Johnny Marr
Liza Kumjian-Smith
Joan Jett
Lance Loud
David JoHansen
Cherie Currie
No Doubt
Louise Wener
Elvis Costello
Belinda Carlisle
Carnie Wilson
Phil Spector
Annabella Lwin
Nancy La Perch
Maria Montoya
Jello Biafra
Manny Furlong
Sid Vicious
Johnny Rotten
Sex Pistols
Coldplay
Chris Martin
Bow Wow Wow
John Easdale
Dramarama
Gary Strobl
Jane Wiedlin
Van Halen
David Lee Roth
Chris Stein
Heather & Annie
Blondie
Kramer Morgenthau
Isadore Ivy - Spaceman at Large
Oasis
Tori Amos
Kato Kaelin
Corey Feldman
Wendy Wilson
Clem Burke
Henry Diltz
Monte Robinson
Paul McCartney
Becca Grove

THE FILMMAKERSWriter/Director: George Hickenlooper

Producers: Chris Carter, Greg Little, Tommy Perna

Executive Producer: Donald Zuckerman

Cinematographers: Kramer Morgenthau, Igor Meglic, Chris Carter, George Hickenlooper

Editor and Co-Producer: Julia Janata

Music: Anthony Marinelli

Music Supervisors: Charles Raggio, Chris Carter, Rodney Bingenheimer

Additional Editor: Eric O. Schusterman

First Assistant Editor: Katie Hedrich

MAYOR OF THE SUNSET STRIP
Mayor of the Sunset Strip tells the story of music and fame through the eyes of pop impresario Rodney Bingenheimer, and his friends David Bowie, Gwen Stefani, Coldplay, Courtney Love, Oasis, Brian Wilson, The Doors, Cher, Nancy Sinatra, Mick Jagger, Brooke Shields, among many others.

From the Monkees to Van Halen to No Doubt and beyond, Rodney Bingenheimer, a.k.a. “Rodney on the ROQ,” has been a cherished figure not only in Los Angeles, but the entire music community, for over 2 decades. Motivated by his love for music and the allure of Hollywood, Rodney first hit the infamous Sunset Strip as a teenager during its psychedelic 1960s heyday. A constantly evolving fixture as scenester, journalist, promoter and club owner, Bingenheimer was deemed “Mayor of the Sunset Strip.” He began spinning records on Los Angeles’ cutting-edge radio station KROQ, and soon became one of the country’s most well known DJs. Rodney was the first to play songs by many California pop, glam, punk, goth, new wave and alternative bands who have since become some of the most celebrated and influential bands in history, including David Bowie, Blondie, The Ramones, The Sex Pistols, Van Halen, The Go-Go’s, Joan Jett, Dramarama, No Doubt, Coldplay Oasis, to name a few.
Mayor of The Sunset Strip depicts the unusual life of a man who was taken in by Sonny and Cher as a teenager, was a stand-in for Davie Jones on the Monkees, and went on to launch the careers of a multitude stars who clearly have not forgotten what Rodney’s done for them.

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION:

An Interview with Writer/Director George Hickenlooper

Q. How did you first become familiar with radio legend Rodney Bingenheimer and what was your initial impression of him?
A. My first impression of Rodney Bingenheimer was the sound of his voice whispering over the airwaves late at night on Los Angeles radio. It was unprepossessing – high-pitched, almost child-like; very unlike the chocolaty rich timbers one gets accustomed to on mass-market radio. In fact, Rodney’s voice was so unique that for years I tried to imagine what kind of face would match it.

Q. How did the idea for a documentary on the life Rodney Bingenheimer first come about?
A. In early 1997, Los Angeles D.J. and former Dramarama band member Chris Carter introduced me to Rodney. Chris, who had come to know Rodney through his band Dramarama (Rodney broke his band on L.A.’s powerhouse station KROQ) had had the idea of making a book then a film about Rodney’s accomplishments in the pop music world. After I had the opportunity to spend some time with Rodney, I realized there was a much bigger story here. This was a fellow who had literally been abandoned as a young boy by his mother at Hollywood’s doorstep. I became fascinated by how Rodney survived as a young man, making his way in the world by living in the shadow of pop stars, becoming “the designated driver between the famous and the not so famous,” and eventually helping many unknown people achieve their dreams of becoming famous pop stars themselves. I was interested in how Rodney was a kind of metaphor for what celebrity has come to represent in American culture. His story was not just about a local D.J. scenemaker trying to make things happen -- his story reflected our society’s universal fascination with the phenomenon of fame.

Q. How did “Mayor of the Sunset Strip” go from being an idea to a reality?
A. After Chris Carter saw my documentary Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse (about the making of Apocalypse Now), he approached me with a proposal to document the story behind the voice of Rodney. The process began with us sifting through an incredible collection of Zelig-like photographs of this sweet boyish Rodney with an incredible array of
friends – and what friends they’ve been! -- Elvis, Andy Warhol, the Beatles, Charles Manson, Jimi Hendrix, the Beach Boys, Mick Jagger, Drew Barrymore, David Bowie, Sid Vicious, Sonny and Cher, more pop stars, movie stars, etc., etc. -- the list is endless. It was truly unbelievable! I felt like I was looking at the life of Chance Gardner, Forrest Gump and Zelig all in one. And when I finally met Rodney, I realized perhaps I wasn’t so far from the truth. Consequently, with the help of my collaborators – Chris Carter, editor Julie Janata, in addition to the very generous support of my producer Greg Little/Caldera Productions and his colleague Tommy Perna -- I embarked on this unique chronicling of Rodney’s life while trying to delicately set it in a much larger sociological framework.

Q. Having heard all the Rodney stories and seeing all the incredible pictures of him with some of the biggest celebrities in history, what intrigued you most about him?
A. Here was a very endearing, almost waifish, but very enigmatic
personality who had existed his entire adult life in the shadow of “celebrity.” And although he had accomplished many impressive things in his own right -- from running a successful Sunset Strip club and discovering musical acts before they were famous to setting the tone for popular music in Los Angeles and much of the world -- what most interested me was that Rodney’s whole life seemed to be entirely shaped by popular culture. And the more I thought about Rodney’s world, the more I thought about my own, and how all of us in western culture, since the beginning of the twenty-first century, have been almost completely molded by what we absorb through the popular media.

Q. How would you best describe “Mayor of the Sunset Strip?”
A. The film is a kind non-fiction musical about Rodney Bingenheimer’s Homeric journey through the world of fame.
Set against an incredible canvas of popular music (David Bowie, Coldplay, Oasis, Brian Wilson, No Doubt, Courtney Love, The Monkees, The Ramones, The Sex Pistols, Nancy Sinatra and many, many more), we have explored Rodney’s exciting and often sad life and the incredible cavalcade of stars and characters, both household names and not, who have been part of his world.

Q. What do you believe you achieved with this film?
A. We have hopefully given a human face to the explosive, but fleeting phenomenon of fame and the harsh reality that lives beneath its surface. Rodney lived it. He is a living symbol of what fame can represent when it’s at its most effervescent, and when it’s dissipated into the harsh reality of its true transient nature.

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

GEORGE HICKENLOOPER
Writer/Director
George Hickenlooper is an internationally acclaimed writer and director. In July of 2003, his most recent feature length film Mayor of the Sunset Strip sold for 1.3 million dollars following its world premiere as the Centerpiece of the IFP/Los Angeles Film Festival, making it the second highest selling documentary of all time, only next to Michael Moore’s Bowling For Columbine. The film tells the story of music and fame through the eyes of pop impersario Rodney Bingenheimer and his friends David Bowie, Gwen Stefani, Coldplay, Courtney Love, Oasis, Brian Wilson, The Doors, Cher, Nancy Sinatra, Mick Jagger, Brooke Shields, among many others.
Hailed by Roger Ebert as “One of the Best Films of 2002!,” The Man From Elysian Fields is Hickenlooper’s recently acclaimed psycho-sexual drama starring Andy Garcia, Mick Jagger, James Coburn, Anjelica Huston, Olivia Williams, Michael DesBarres and Juliana Margulies.

Nominated for a Golden Globe award, The Big Brass Ring is his 1999 critically acclaimed political thriller, adapted from an Orson Welles screenplay, starring William Hurt, Nigel Hawthorne, Miranda Richardson and Irene Jacob.

Hickenlooper has also won an Emmy award for directing for his work on the internationally acclaimed Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocolypse (a documentary about the making of Apocolypse Now), and received international praise for his dramatic short Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade, starring Billy Bob Thornton, Molly Ringwald, and J.T. Walsh (the basis for the Oscar-winning feature Sling Blade).

Among Hickenlooper’s other feature work is The Low Life, a tragic-comedy starring Kyra Sedgwick, Sean Astin, Rory Cochrane, and Renee Zelwegger; Persons Unknown, an off-beat thriller starring Naomi Watts, Joe Mantegna, Kelly Lynch and J.T. Walsh; and Dogtown, a drama starring Mary Stuart Masterson, Jon Favreau and Natasha Gregson Wagner. Hickenlooper’s films have received numerous awards and have been shown as official selections at the Cannes, Sundance, Telluride, New York, London, Locarno, Moscow, Tokyo and Toronto International film festivals.

Other films by Hickenlooper include the documentaries Picture This (about director Peter Bogdanovich); Art, Acting and the Suicide Chair (about Dennis Hopper); and Monte Hellman: American Auteur; in addition to television work for ABC/Disney, CBS, NBC, Fox, and Aaron Spelling. A 1986 graduate of Yale University, he’s also the author of the book Reel Conversations, a collection of interviews with directors and critics.

Hickenlooper currently has development deals with Columbia Pictures, Warner Brothers and John Cusack.

CHRIS CARTER
Producer
Well-known Los Angeles radio personality and musician Chris Carter most recently served as producer and music supervisor on the critically acclaimed feature length film Mayor of the Sunset Strip, which made its world premiere as the centerpiece of the 2003 IFP/Los Angeles Film Festival. Written and directed by George Hickenlooper, the film tells the story of music and fame through the eyes of pop impersario Rodney Bingenheimer and his friends David Bowie, Gwen Stefani, Coldplay, Courtney Love, Oasis, Brian Wilson, The Doors, Cher, Nancy Sinatra, Mick Jagger, Brooke Shields, among many others.

In a successful and diverse music career spanning over two decades, Carter’s first stint in radio was filling in occasionally for pal Rodney Bingenheimer’s legendary show “Rodney on the ROQ” on LA’s KROQ. Currently Carter can be heard as the host of 97.1 KLSX – FM’s “Breakfast with the Beatles, Los Angeles’ highest rated weekend show. Since becoming host of the show in 1999, Carter has had the honor of interviewing Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and Pete Best.

Named one of “The 100 Most Influential Californian’s in the Music Industry” in 1999 by BAM Magazine, Carter also hosted “The Chris Carter Mess” on LA’s 103.1 from 1999 – 2001, as well as the original acclaimed “Chris Carter Mess” on LA’s Modern Rock Y107 from 1997-1999. Prior to that he conducted in-depth interviews with hundreds of Sony artists ranging from Ozzy Osbourne to Pearl Jam for “Sony’s Siren Spotlight.”

An accomplished musician, Carter co-founded the rock group Dramarama in the early 80’s. Their 1985 debut album Cinem Verite became an instant hit in France and their single Anything Anything (I’ll Give You) received heavy play on Los Angeles’ infamous KROQ, earning the station’s #1 spot for almost an entire year. Their four follow-up albums were even more successful, and in 1992 they won the awards for Best Modern Rock Band and Album of the Year at the LA Music Awards. In addition to playing bass, Carter produced, wrote, arranged and designed all the artwork and promo materials for the band.

Carter’s gift for music and management skills led him to establish his own company, QM Management, in 1995. He represents two critically acclaimed Los Angeles favorites -- The Wondermints, who in addition to being Brian Wilson’s back-up band, wrote and performed the theme to Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, and The Negro Problem, who were voted “Best Band in LA” from three years in row by LA Weekly.

In 2002, Carter produced The Naked Dutch Painter album by LA artist Stew, which was picked as “Album Of The Year 2002” by Entertainment Weekly. A year prior, he produced and interviewed George Harrison for Capitol Record’s exclusive promotional CD All Things Must Pass: A Conversation w/George Harrison. In addition, Carter has produced scores, songs and music for a number of television shows and feature films including, Melrose Place, Felicity, Entertainment Tonight, ABC’s Wide World of Sports, Nightmare Elm Street IV, Pet Cemetery.

The editor for Artist Directs/UBL Alternative News Letter, Carter is also a regular contributor to Creem Magazine and Beatle Monthly. As a freelance writer, he has written features and reviews for BAM, Exposure, LA Reader, Yeah Yeah Yeah, and Music Confidential, where he served as Associate Editor from 1992 – 1994.

GREG LITTLE
Producer

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TOMMY PERNA
Producer
Tommy Perna most recently served as producer on the critically acclaimed feature length film Mayor of the Sunset Strip, which made its world premiere as the centerpiece of the 2003 IFP/Los Angeles Film Festival. Written and directed by George Hickenlooper, the film tells the story of music and fame through the eyes of pop impersario Rodney Bingenheimer and his friends David Bowie, Gwen Stefani, Coldplay, Courtney Love, Oasis, Brian Wilson, The Doors, Cher, Nancy Sinatra, Mick Jagger, Brooke Shields, among many others. Mayor of the Sunset Strip marks the first feature film Perna has produced.

A native of Paterson, NJ, Perna started out on the New York stage as a dancer before moving on to star in numerous national commercials. He also enjoyed a short stint on the Emmy winning daytime drama Guiding Light.

Most recently, he played leading roles in the independent films Lava Lounge and If?, both scheduled to be released later this year. Perna has appeared in several other films, including Porky’s Revenge, The Big Brass Ring starring William Hurt, Beat starring Courtney Love and Kiefer Sutherland, Crime & Punishment in Suburbia starring Ellen Barkin, and George Hickenlooper’s critically acclaimed The Man From Elysian Fields starring Andy Garcia, Mick Jagger and James Coburn.

In 2001, Perna starred in Proctor & Gamble’s Emmy award winning “Dream Builder” series Movie of the Week Our Father. He has also guest-starred on a number of TV series, including Married with Children and Charmed.

As a producer, Perna began in development at Viacom Production for Daniel L. Paulson. He soon went on to produce, co-direct and star in the internationally acclaimed short Changes of Distance, which was screened and won awards at numerous international film festivals. Perna is currently set to produce Bulls-Eye Entertainment’s upcoming thriller Hunting Icarus, written by Michael Easton with George Hickenlooper set to direct in 2004, as well as Leave Bad Enough Alone written by Jason Olson.
Perna resides in Los Angeles and is represented by Geoffry Oblath at Armstrong-Hirsch.

DONALD ZUCKERMAN
Executive Producer
Feature film producer Donald Zuckerman most recently served as executive producer on the critically acclaimed feature length film Mayor of the Sunset Strip, which made its world premiere as the centerpiece of the 2003 IFP/Los Angeles Film Festival. Written and directed by George Hickenlooper, the film tells the story of music and fame through the eyes of pop impersario Rodney Bingenheimer and his friends David Bowie, Gwen Stefani, Coldplay, Courtney Love, Oasis, Brian Wilson, The Doors, Cher, Nancy Sinatra, Mick Jagger, Brooke Shields, among many others.

Zuckerman previously served as producer on the 2002 feature The Man From Elysian Fields, which starred Andy Garcia, Mick Jagger, Julianna Margulies and James Coburn, and was hailed by Roger Ebert as “One of the Best Films of 2002.” Written and directed by Hickenlooper, the film premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival and was released theatrically by Samuel Goldwyn Co./Fireworks Pictures.

He launched a successful and diverse film career as executive producer of director George Hickenlooper’s features The Low Life starring Rory Cochrane, Kyra Sedgwick and Sean Astin; Dogtown, starring, Jon Favreau, Natasha Gregson Wagner and Mary Stuart Masterson; and the political drama The Big Brass Ring, featuring William Hurt, Nigel Hawthorne and Miranda Richardson, who earned a Golden Globe nomination for her role. The film premiered at the 1999 Toronto International Film Festival.

Zuckerman’s other producing credits include the 2001 thriller Say Nothing starring William Baldwin and Nastasha Kinski, which was produced for HBO; Beat, a drama about the life of William Burroughs and his wife, which premiered at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival and features Courtney Love and Kiefer Sutherland; and Thick as Thieves, starring Alec Baldwin, Andre Braugher and Rebecca De Mornay. The film premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival and was later released theatrically by October Films.
In addition to his film credits, Zuckerman executive produced Live From The Ritz, a series of television specials for MTV, Battlecade: Extreme Fighting, a series of live international events for pay-per-view television, and The Contenders, also for Pay-Per-View.
Zuckerman also has a long history of creating/producing exciting New York City nightlife venues including, The Ritz, a hot-spot in the ‘80s and the trendy upscale restaurant Metropolis. In addition, he served as manager for Columbia Records’ platinum recording artist Scandal featuring Patty Smyt, as well as 1984 Olympic heavyweight boxing gold medalist Henry Tillman.

Zuckerman earned a law degree Boston University School of Law and an undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

JULIE JANATA
Editor and Co-Producer
Julie Janata’s most recent credits include editor and co-producer for the critically acclaimed feature length film Mayor of the Sunset Strip, which made its world premiere as the centerpiece of the 2003 IFP/Los Angeles Film Festival. Written and directed by George Hickenlooper, the film tells the story of music and fame through the eyes of pop impersario Rodney Bingenheimer and his friends David Bowie, Gwen Stefani, Coldplay, Courtney Love, Oasis, Brian Wilson, The Doors, Cher, Nancy Sinatra, Mick Jagger, Brooke Shields, among many others.

An editor with over 15 years experience in feature film post-production, Janata edited Dreamland, also for Caldera Productions, which was selected to air as part of the prestigious "P.O.V." series on PBS. She cut Getting to Know You, based on interwoven stories by Joyce Carol Oates, and directed by Lisanne Skyler. Selected for Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival, as well as an opening gala at the Venice Film Festival, the film received “two thumbs up” from Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper.
Janata served as additional editor of the Emmy-nominated A Soldier’s Sweetheart for Paramount, based on a story from Tim O’Brien’s classic novel The Things They Carried. The film screened in the American Independent Competition at the Seattle Film Festival, was selected as a gala presentation at the Toronto and Montreal International Film Festivals, and won a Golden Reel Award. Janata re-cut over 25 feature films in two years as “film doctor” for Roger Corman, in addition to editing his feature Beyond the Call of Duty.

As an assistant editor, Janata honed her storytelling skills while managing extraordinary technical difficulties on Oscar and Emmy-winning films around the world, including the Oscar-winning The Ghost and The Darkness, Heat, which Martin Scorsese named “one of the ten best films of the 90’s,” French Kiss, The Jackal, Jimmy Hollywood, Gleaming the Cube and Sweet Hearts Dance. She also served as assistant editor on the multiple-Emmy award winning TV series Moonlighting, and the Oscar-nominated High Schools and The Silence.

Janata has been a post-production consultant for Warner Brothers Feature Films, Video Lab Group South Africa and Lightworks US and London headquarters, as well as technical consultant to numerous productions, including Bad Boys, Devil in a Blue Dress, A Little Princess and Batman and Robin.

In the music world, she was assistant editor on numerous videos, including those for Tina Turner, Van Halen, The Pretenders, George Thorogood and Bob Dylan.

Janata double-majored in Film and Psychology at the University of Michigan, before coming to Los Angeles as a Cinematography Fellow at the American Film Institute.