“It isn’t every day that you meet someone as talented nor as wonderful to have for a working partner as David. He is a gifted writer and a willing collaborator, with a unique voice and rapier wit. Always open to new challenges and a delight to have as a producing partner, David met his first foray in the world of animation with all the spirit and understanding you would expect from long time professionals in the industry. He is a joy to work with and I hope we will continue to collaborate for years to come.
Charlene Kelly, Producer “Next Gen,” Consulting Producer - Bidaya Media
Latest from Leaf
Press Release: God Only Knows: The Story of Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys and the California Myth
God Only Knows: The Story of Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys and the California Myth
By David Leaf
Published 23rd June
“For over thirty years I’ve trusted David Leaf with my music and my story. The 2001 Radio City tribute to me was a highlight of my career. And his SMiLE film ‘Beautiful Dreamer’ was one of the reasons I was able to finally finish the record.
He’s a true friend.” Brian Wilson
The brand new and extensively updated edition of the classic rock biography God Only Knows: The Story of Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys and the California Myth by David Leaf is published by Omnibus Press on 30th June. Preorder HERE
Originally published in 1978 and updated in 1985, The Beach Boys and the California Myth by David Leaf was the first book to focus on Brian Wilson and recognise him as one of the most significant and influential artists of the 20th century. An intimate look at Brian’s rollercoaster life and career, the book was told through the eyes of those who were present at Wilson’s most legendary productions including Pet Sounds, Good Vibrations and SMiLE. It covered turbulent family strife and internal conflicts as well as Brian’s remarkable music. The book became an instant classic.
Omnibus Press regards the original edition of the book as historically important and it is essentially unchanged in this new edition. Leaf has written two major new pieces that bookend his original opus, and in this edition readers are essentially getting ‘two books in one’. Included in the section that precedes the original work are exclusive contributions from Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Barry Gibb, notes from Melinda Wilson, the previously untold stories of Leaf’s first meetings with The Beach Boys, and much more.
Leaf explains, “When I wrote the original I was twenty five and an intense, driven journalist on a mission to uncover the truth about Brian Wilson’s life. In the wake of the publication of the 1978 edition I became Brian’s friend and ultimately his partner on numerous landmark projects. Now as an “elder statesman” in Brian’s life and story, this reminiscence is a celebration of Brian’s 80th birthday.”
He continues, “What makes this book unique is that it’s the only one written by somebody who began writing about Brian as an ‘outsider’ and who is now an ‘insider.’ Alongside Brian during his creative rebirth, I experienced so many key moments in his solo career - many of which I wrote and produced - including 2001’s All Star Tribute To Brian Wilson and my 2004 film, Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of SMiLE. This update is filled with eyewitness recollections from so many unforgettable events, including the day when Brian was the only American rock legend to play at the Queen’s Jubilee in London. In telling these stories, my wish is to provide a wealth of information that will give the reader unexpected and invaluable insights into the man behind the myth.”
The eight new chapters in this wide ranging update feature a gallery of 40+ photographs, including some previously unseen, candid behind the scenes looks at Brian’s creative renaissance (with ‘inside’ information about the making of his first acclaimed solo album), on the scene reportage from Wilson’s return to live performing and the landmark Pet Sounds tour, and the triumphant Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE world premiere in London. God Only Knows is filled with stunning revelations on Wilson’s life and artistry, and Leaf’s adventures with Brian offer the reader insight and perspective only the author can provide.
“Docs That Rock, Docs That Matter”
We’re just finishing another amazing winter quarter of “Docs That Rock, Docs That Matter,” one of the courses I teach at UCLA.
My guests have been amazing and so generous with their experience and wisdom…Morgan Neville, Andrew Solt, Paul Justman, Steve Binder and Susan Lacy…and we’ve watched so many remarkable films this quarter including “Summer of Soul,” “Twenty Feet From Stardom,” “Imagine,” “Standing In The Shadows Of Motown,” and several of mine, “The Night James Brown Saved Boston,” ‘Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and The Story of SMiLE,” and “The U.S. vs. John Lennon.”
Starting soon…Professor Leaf (as my students call me) returns to the classroom with “The Reel Beatles” and a line-up of guests includes friends and colleagues from Liverpool and London including Peter Asher, Michael Lindsay-Hogg, Mark Lewisohn and Peter Jackson.
Newsweek Documentary Mention
Springsteen sang about being on the cover. Well, I didn’t make the cover, but I’m in the digital version of Newsweek, thanks to “To Tell The Truth,” a documentary I directed in 2019 about the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. When we started the project, I thought it might be a short piece, but the story is so powerful…and the on-camera witnesses so strong…that I thought it was worthy of it being a feature length film. And it looks like Newsweek agrees.
Beatles’ ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ Gets 4K UHD + Blu-ray Edition
Beatles’ 1964 feature film debut, A Hard Day’s Night, has received a 4K digital restoration, and is being released via a new special edition. The restoration, approved by director Richard Lester, arrives January 18, 2022, as a 2-disc UHD + Blu-ray edition via Criterion Collection. (The black-and-white film has been upgraded many times in the previous decades. This edition was first made available in Japan in 2021.)
From the announcement: Just one month after they exploded onto the U.S. scene with their Ed Sullivan Show appearance, John, Paul, George, and Ringo began working on a project that would bring their revolutionary talent to the big screen. This film, in which the bandmates play slapstick versions of themselves, captured the astonishing moment when they officially became the singular, irreverent idols of their generation and changed music forever. Directed with raucous, anything–goes verve by Richard Lester and featuring a slew of iconic pop anthems—including the title track, “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “I Should Have Known Better,” and “If I Fell”—-A Hard Day’s Night, which re-conceived the movie musical and exerted an incalculable influence on the music video, is one of the most deliriously entertaining movies of all time.
“Are you a mod or a rocker?” “I’m a mocker…”
The collection includes:
The new 4K digital restoration, approved by the filmmaker, offers three audio options—-a monaural soundtrack as well as stereo and 5.1 surround mixes supervised by sound producer Giles Martin at Abbey Road Studios—-presented in uncompressed monaural, uncompressed stereo, and DTS-HD Master Audio.
One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
Audio commentary featuring cast and crew
In Their Own Voices, a program featuring 1964 interviews with the Beatles and behind-the-scenes footage and photos
You Can’t Do That: The Making of ‘A Hard Day’s Night,’ a 1994 documentary (from executive producer Walter Shenson) includes an outtake performance by the Beatles. I wrote and produced this for Shenson.
Things They Said Today, a 2002 documentary about the film featuring Lester, music producer George Martin, screenwriter Alun Owen, and cinematographer Gilbert Taylor
The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film (1960), Lester’s Oscar-nominated short
Interview from 2014 with Beatles biographer Mark Lewisohn
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
I go “Behind The Scenes” with Peter Jackson.
GET BACK! This was an amazing experience. Just days before Peter Jackson’s mega documentary series, Get Back, premiered on Disney +, I had a chance to Zoom with the legendary director. We recorded an interview for my UCLA course, “The Reel Beatles.” He’s obviously brilliant, a massive Beatles fan and we even spoke for a minute about You Can’t Do That my first music documentary. Towards the end of our conversation, he brought up one of my best films, The U.S. vs. John Lennon. He said that he wished “The U.S.” had won that battle, meaning no green card for John…and no fatal night in 1980.
The folks at Disney really know how to do these press things.
I was in a “Zoom waiting room,” then transferred to the holding place
And then, there he was, from way across the ocean…
Man, does he talk fast, and give you a lot of information in a minute.
He asked me about my A Hard Day’s Night doc. Pretty cool that he knew I’d done it. We even discussed rights issues between Shenson and the Beatles regarding A Hard Day’s Night and Help.
But I was there to talk Get Back, and the fact that I was “Professor David Leaf” of UCLA’s “The Reel Beatles” gave the conversation a different tone from so many other promotional interviews he was doing. No promoting necessary. No explaining what Let It Be was.
I told him that by the time my students see Get Back, they’ll have seen The Beatles First Visit, A Hard Days Night, Help, Magical Mystery Tour, Yellow Submarine, Let It Be, The Beatles Anthology, Eight Days A Week, all of their key TV appearances and lots of other Beatles related documentaries.
He was just so engaged. We were supposed to only speak for 20 minutes, but we went much longer. He answered all of my questions. Now that I’ve seen Get Back, I can’t wait to talk with him again. Which Mr. Jackson may do when my “Reel Beatles” class at UCLA starts again in March.