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Brian Wilson & The Beach Boys: "Love & Mercy" - Film History Livestream

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Hosted By
Robert K. and Robert K.
Brian Wilson & The Beach Boys: "Love & Mercy" - Film History Livestream

Details

Let's spend an evening honoring the late Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys.

We invite you to join us for a film screening of “Love & Mercy”, the 2014 biopic on Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys.
The screening will have two parts. Part one, approximately 15-20 minutes, will be a historical context of the film, things to look for, accuracy, etc. Part two will be a full screening of the film.
During the screening there will be an opportunity to discuss the film with other participants via Zoom.

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Love & Mercy is a 2014 American biographical drama film directed by Bill Pohlad about the Beach Boys' co-founder and leader Brian Wilson and his struggles with mental illness during the 1960s and 1980s. It stars Paul Dano and John Cusack as the young and middle-aged Wilson, respectively, with Elizabeth Banks as his second wife Melinda Ledbetter and Paul Giamatti as his psychologist Dr. Eugene Landy. The title comes from Wilson's 1988 song of the same name.
The film alternates between Wilson's production of the album Pet Sounds (1966) and his treatment under Landy's 24-hour therapy program in the late 1980s. Wilson called the film "very factual", albeit containing parts that "weren't actually as factual". He had little involvement with its making, although Ledbetter was relied upon for the 1980s portions. The cast and crew maintained that nothing in the film was a "Hollywood" embellishment and that everything was intended to be as truthful as possible. Conversely, Landy's son Evan felt that his father was unfairly portrayed. Ledbetter said that Landy's treatment of Wilson "was even worse" than the film portrays.

Film Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lioWzrpCtGQ

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Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – c. June 11, 2025) was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition and mastery of recording techniques, he is widely acknowledged as one of the most innovative and significant songwriters of the 20th century. His best-known work is distinguished for its high production values, complex harmonies and orchestrations, vocal layering, and introspective or ingenuous themes. Wilson was also known for his versatile vocal range. He faced lifelong struggles with mental illness.

The Beach Boys are an American rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by their vocal harmonies, adolescent-oriented lyrics, and musical ingenuity, they are one of the most influential acts of the rock era. They drew on the music of older pop vocal groups, 1950s rock and roll, and black R&B to create their unique sound. Under Brian's direction, they often incorporated classical or jazz elements and unconventional recording techniques in innovative ways.
The Beach Boys formed as a garage band centered on Brian's songwriting and managed by the Wilsons' father, Murry. In 1963, the band enjoyed their first national hit with "Surfin' U.S.A.", beginning a string of top-ten singles that reflected a southern California youth culture of surfing, cars, and romance, dubbed the "California sound". They were one of the few American rock bands to sustain their commercial standing during the British Invasion. Starting with 1965's The Beach Boys Today!, they abandoned beachgoing themes for more personal lyrics and ambitious orchestrations. In 1966, the Pet Sounds album and "Good Vibrations" single raised the group's prestige as rock innovators; both are now considered to be among the greatest and most influential works in popular music history.
The Beach Boys are one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful bands of all time, selling over 100 million records worldwide. They helped legitimize popular music as a recognized art form and influenced the development of music genres and movements such as psychedelia, power pop, progressive rock, punk, alternative, and lo-fi. Between the 1960s and 2020s, the group had 37 songs reach the US Top 40 (the most by an American band), with four topping the Billboard Hot 100. In 2004, they were ranked number 12 on Rolling Stone's list of the greatest artists of all time. The founding members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.

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Zoom Connection Link
Click (or Copy and Paste) and Follow the Instructions:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81764605670?pwd=NmxDYThSSDh6QzdkUXJjZTBzelBaQT09
Meeting ID: 817 6460 5670
Passcode: 482534
Dial by your location
• +1 253 205 0468 US

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Your host for this program is Robert Kelleman, the founder/director of the non-profit community organizations Washington, DC History & Culture and Texas History & Culture.

Washington, DC History & Culture
/ Washington, DC Embassy Events & Museum Meetups
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YouTube Previously Recorded Programs:
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We look forward to seeing you. Thanks!

Robert Kelleman
rkelleman@yahoo.com
202-821-6325 (text only)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertkelleman/

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