Immediate Family – Director Denny Tedesco

Filmmaker Denny Tedesco’s follow up to his excellent documentary WRECKING CREW is the equally entertaining, IMMEDIATE FAMILY. The film tracks the rise and collaborations of a group of legendary studio musicians through the 1970s and onward, chronicling their illustrious partnerships and their formidable record of hit-making. While The Wrecking Crew followed the first wave of studio musicians in the 60s, IMMEDIATE FAMILY reveals the machinery behind the booming era of the singer-songwriter, when the talents of these four musicians were in furious demand. Known for their long, illustrious careers backing up such Hall-of-Fame artists such as James Taylor, Keith Richards, Jackson Browne,  Linda Ronstadt, Carole King, Stevie Nicks and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, guitarists Danny Kortchmar and Waddy Wachtel, drummer Russ Kunkel, and bassist Leland Sklar have come together, along with guitarist Steve Postell, to perform their own songs as The IMMEDIATE FAMILY band that can legitimately be called a supergroup. The foundations of their enduring friendship, formed on the road and in studios, is recalled with dynamite clarity —reminisced with fondness through intimate interviews with the guys themselves, as well as the memories of some of rock’s most iconic voices. IMMEDIATE FAMILY is a backstage tour spanning multiple eras of musical history. Director Denny Tedesco (Wrecking Crew) joins us to talk about his joyous and entertaining bookend toWrecking Crew and how he initially resisted any film follow-up until he came to realize that Danny Kortchmar, Waddy Wachtel, Russ Kunkel, Leland Sklar, and Steve Postell were in fact today’s worthy successors to his dad and the hit-making musicians he brought to our attention in 2008.

 

Download MP3 Podcast | Open Player in New Window

For more go to: immediatefamilyfilm.com

In theaters on December 15

About the filmmaker – Denny Tedesco grew up in Los Angeles. He started as a set decorator on feature films such as “Eating Raoul” and then went on to working on films, commercials and music videos during the MTV Years as a grip. During the 1990s and 2000s, Denny worked as a freelance producer and director and conducted interviews for A&E, TV-Land, and was a producer on Comedy Central’s Pulp Comics. Most notably in 2000, he produced the Academy Awards “opening” staring Billy Crystal and also the award-winning music video for Elton John’s song, “I Want Love” starring Robert Downey Jr. In 1996, Denny set out on the labor of love of all loves. His father, famed session guitarist Tommy Tedesco, was diagnosed with terminal cancer. With a year left in his father’s life, Denny quickly started filming his father and his co-horts and other musicians fondly known as the Wrecking Crew. His latest producing job is currently on the 2nd season of a comedy series, Hanging With Doctor Z, featuring comedian Dana Gould who plays Dr. Z, (character from Planet of the Apes) Dr. Z interviews other comedians; Dave Foley, Bobcat Goldthwait, Patton Oswalt, Steven Webber, Will Forte, Penn Jillett, Maria Bamford, Al Yankovic, Paget Brewster, Jeff Garlin ,Hank Azaria and more. He is now in Pre-Production of his next documentary, “The Salad Oil Swindle”, one of the greatest financial crises in American History. It stars Ron Insana, Warren Buffett and other financial legends of Wall Street.

SOCIAL MEDIA
facebook.com/MagnoliaPictures
facebook.com/immediatefamilyfilm
twitter.com/MagnoliaPics
twitter.com/WreckingCrewdoc
instagram.com/tedescodenny
instagram.com/immediatefamilyfilm
instagram.com/magnoliapics

 

“Immediate family is a treat for music fans of all stripes. It’s a privilege to watch these four unsung heroes do what they love so well – and to see them interact with some of the most celebrated singer-songwriters of all time.” – Leonard Maltin, Maltin on Movies

“Denny has told an extraordinary story and done a masterful job od connecting with all the people who were involved. A great achievement. This is a film that as many people as possible should see.” – Chris Bisha, 360 Degree Sound