FEATURE:
Joni Mitchell at Eighty
IN THIS PHOTO: Joni Mitchell in 1968/PHOTO CREDIT: Jack Robinson/Hulton Archive, via Getty Images
Both Sides, Now: Bringing the Icon to the Screen
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COMING up on 7th November…
IN THIS PHOTO: Joni Mitchell's at the Newport Folk Festival on 24th June, 2022 (you can find out more about it and buy the live album here)/PHOTO CREDIT: Nina Westervelt
we mark the eightieth birthday of one of the most influential artists ever. There is no doubting few lyrics are as evocative and poetic as Joni Mitchell. Alongside an elite few, her songs are works of art. So richly drawn and spellbinding, the songs themselves could form their own film. Maybe an album like 1971’s Blue. I think that there have been occasions where Joni Mitchell has appeared on film. Usually concert footage, she is one of those legends who has not been subjected to a biopic or T.V. drama. With series like Daisy Jones & The Six seemingly representing Fleetwood Mac in some form, you wonder when a biopic about them will come. Same too with Debbie Harry and Blondie. Madonna’s planned biopic has been shelved. That has been crying out for decades. You hope it does come to the screen very soon. One artists who might not seem as cinematic – read: dramatic and controversial – is Joni Mitchell. I have always felt a biopic or drama based on her life should happen. Luckily, as we see in this article from earlier in the year, that might come sooner than we imagined:
“Cameron Crowe, the director of Almost Famous and Jerry Maguire, is developing a new drama film with Joni Mitchell about her life.
According to a story on the entertainment site Above the Line – which was subsequently reposted on Mitchell’s own website – the project is not a documentary and Mitchell has been collaborating with Crowe on the script for the past two years.
Crowe made his name as a teenager writing for Rolling Stone and Creem magazines, experiences he went on to dramatise in Almost Famous. He is a music fanatic and has a longstanding friendship with Mitchell, who he has interviewed numerous times; in 2017 he accompanied her to her first public appearance, a Grammy awards gala, since suffering a brain aneurysm two years earlier.
IN THIS PHOTO: Cameron Crowe and Joni Mitchell pictured in November 2022/PHOTO CREDIT: Bruce Glikas/Getty Images
Crowe has not directed a feature film since the romcom Aloha in 2015, which was was a box office failure and was criticised for the casting of Emma Stone as a character with Hawaiian and Chinese heritage. In 2019, he produced the documentary David Crosby: Remember My Name, about the folk-rock singer-songwriter who died in January this year.
Mitchell, 79, has not released a studio album since 2007’s Shine and kept a low profile after her 2015 aneurysm. But she returned to live performance with a surprise set at Newport folk festival in July 2022, playing 13 songs alongside Brandi Carlile and others, and is booked to play another solo show in June at Washington state’s Gorge Amphitheatre. A live album of her Newport performance is also planned, she told Elton John in an interview in November.
Previously unreleased material has also emerged in recent years across a series of six archival releases by the label Rhino, beginning with Joni Mitchell Archives – Vol. 1: The Early Years (1963–1967) in 2020”.
There is a bit of speculation and wondering as to what could come about. Rather than a straight biopic, it seems maybe there will be a section of Mitchell’s life converted to a drama. I like that Mitchell is consulting and working on the script. It means there is truth and that personal input. It makes me wonder a couple of things. In such a wonderful and diverse life, is this going to be a career-spanning drama that uses her music as a backdrop?! Maybe set in the late-1960s or 1970s, you would have these incredible songs scoring a powerful drama. Whether set in Laurel Canyon, or if it talks place somewhere else, I cannot wait to see what might come about. One reason why it is important to have a film or T.V. series around Joni Mitchell’s work is because it introduces people to her music. A younger generation who use Spotify and cannot get her music – Mitchell removed her music from the platform in protest against controversial podcaster Joe Rogan. The biopic or music film can be quite difficult to get right. When it comes to Joni Mitchell, some might consider her a niche artist. Someone who only connects with people who experienced her music in the 1970s. Her legacy and brilliance has inspired modern artists like Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish. There are dozens of modern artists you can trace to Joni Mitchell. Alongside a drama, it would also be wonderful if there was some modern documentary. Artists and fans talking about her impact and importance. Maybe a new interview with Mitchell. Bringing those albums and songs to life in a new way. Something that covers her career and importance, you would also get to learn more about a hugely intriguing songwriter.
Whether the Cameron Crowe-helmed upcoming Joni Mitchell project is more a straight biopic or uses her music in something fictional, it is a long-overdue project that will open up her music to new generations. Show just how powerful and important her cannon of work is. I hope there is a lot of celebration in the lead-up to her eightieth birthday. Whether Mitchell herself minds or finds it a bit uncomfortable I am not sure. I’d like to think people are honouring her ahead of quite a milestone. Whilst no more original material will come, she is still performing live now and then. You cannot rule anything out. A alongside what comes to the screen, a documentary accompanying this would be magnificent. Important to hear new words from a music genius! So many people are influenced by her, thanking Mitchell and sharing their stories would be really something! I am sure we will hear something regarding Cameron Crowe and his project soon. I am excited to think about what might come about. Before 7th November, take some time to listen to Joni Mitchell’s albums and live performances. Check out video and print interviews, as they always make for engrossing and remarkable listening/reading. I am going to leave it there. I am going to put out another feature or two before Joni Mitchell turns eighty. Such a music titan, the world would not be the same without her in it! It is true that she really is…
ONE of a kind.