presents Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon A Film by Mike Myers Production co: A&E Indie Films 84' | USA | 2013 | HD www.supermenschthemovie.com @Supermenschfilm /SupermenschFilm TIFF 2013 – World Premiere IDFA 2013- International Premiere SXSW 2014- USA Premiere DOGWOOF | 102 Hatton Square Business Centre | 16 Baldwin Gardens |London | EC1N 7RJ | UK Tel: +44 20 7831 7252 | [email protected] "Enormously entertaining" - The Hollywood Reporter "In short, see it." - IndieWire "Leaves audiences with a smile." - Screen International DOGWOOF | 102 Hatton Square Business Centre | 16 Baldwin Gardens |London | EC1N 7RJ | UK Tel: +44 20 7831 7252 | [email protected] SHORT SYNOPSIS In his directorial debut, Mike Myers documents the astounding career of Hollywood insider, the loveable Shep Gordon, a man who managed rock stars (Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper), produced films, dated actresses (Sharon Stone) and created the concept of the celebrity chef. MEDIUM SYNOPSIS In his directorial debut, Mike Myers (Wayne’s World, Austin Powers) documents the astounding career of Hollywood insider, the loveable Shep Gordon, who fell into music management by chance after moving to LA straight out of college, and befriending Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix. Shep managed rock stars such as Pink Floyd, Luther Vandross, Teddy Pendergrass and Alice Cooper, and later went on to manage chefs such as Emeril Lagasse, ushering in the era of celebrity chefs on television. Stuffed with fantastic archive footage the film traces Shep’s transformation from the 1970’s hedonist to today’s practicing Buddhist yearning for a family of his own. LONG SYNOPSIS In 1991, music manager Shep Gordon held Mike Myers over a barrel a few weeks before shooting “Wayne’s World” regarding an Alice Cooper song Myers wanted to use in the film. They have been close friends ever since. 22 years later, the story of Gordon’s legendary life in the uber fast lane is now told in Myers’ directorial debut. And this time it’s Myers who has Gordon over a barrel. Capitalist, protector, hedonist, pioneer, showman, shaman . SUPERMENSCH. Shep Gordon is the consummate Hollywood insider. Though he isn’t a household name, Gordon has become a beacon in the industry, beloved by the countless stars he has encountered throughout his storied career. Shep is known for managing the careers of Alice Cooper as well as stints with Blondie, Luther Vandross and Raquel Welch, among others – a career that began with a chance encounter in 1968 with Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix. He even found time to invent the “Celebrity Chef.” Though the chef as star is part of the culture now, it took Shep's imagination, and his moral outrage at how the chefs were being treated, to monetize the culinary arts into the multi-billion dollar industry it is today. Personal friends with the Dalai Lama through his philanthropic endeavors with the Tibet Fund and the guardian of four children, Gordon’s unlikely story will be told by those who know him best, his pals, including Alice Cooper, Michael Douglas, Sylvester Stallone, Anne Murray, Willie Nelson, Emeril Lagasse and more. DOGWOOF | 102 Hatton Square Business Centre | 16 Baldwin Gardens |London | EC1N 7RJ | UK Tel: +44 20 7831 7252 | [email protected] Q&A WITH FILMMAKER MIKE MYERS You’ve been trying to get Shep to agree to let you make a movie about him for 10 years. Why do you think he finally relented? Shep is a very modest man. He's not comfortable in the spotlight but he is very comfortable at the edge of the frame, being in service to others. I think I just wore him down. I wanted everyone to pay a lot of attention to the man behind the curtain. What prompted the idea for your film and how did it evolve? His stories. Name an artist from the last 50 years and Shep has a first-person story about them. It’s Six Degrees of Shep Gordon. He helped shape Alice Cooper which in turn begat so many other great bands from Kiss to The Sex Pistols. If it was Folk, Soul, Shock, Metal, Glam, Goth etc, etc, etc., Shep was there, protecting nurturing, guiding and in many cases creating out of whole cloth. He also found time to manage Groucho Marx in the last days of that comedic genius’s life (pro bono) and he even found time to invent the Celebrity Chef (also pro bono). He is one of the best Showmen on earth, an ethical hedonist, a progressive capitalist, and one of the nicest human beings I have ever met. What were your biggest challenges in shooting or editing the film? The biggest challenge in making this film was taking the many disparate stories from Shep's life and sculpting them into a single narrative. Once you let all the stories wash over you, you start to see the similarities. First he hears about someone not getting their due. Second he helps that someone- with no expectation of anything in return. Then through guile, instinct and wisdom, Shep turns that someone into a massive success. The Midas touch. However the story of King Midas is a cautionary tale. Midas's magic touch turns even his family into gold. Although Supermensch is steeped in show business, it’s really a film about family. What surprised you the most about Shep when you were making the film? I was surprised at the wide variety of people that agreed to be in the film. From Michael Douglas to Emeril to Anne Murray to Sylvester Stallone to Willie Nelson to Rinchen Dharlo (His Holiness the Dalai Lama's American emissary and president of the Tibet Fund). They all wanted to "testify" on Shep's behalf. Shep is beloved. I never really understood fully the notion of what it is to be "beloved" until I made this film. DOGWOOF | 102 Hatton Square Business Centre | 16 Baldwin Gardens |London | EC1N 7RJ | UK Tel: +44 20 7831 7252 | [email protected] What was the one question that you wished you had asked Shep in the film but didn’t or couldn’t? Shep had a near death experience two weeks into shooting. His chance of surviving the sudden illness was estimated to be one in ten. And yet, despite the terrible odds, he lived. I wanted to ask him why he "came back." Somehow I knew the answer would be unsatisfying on camera. I don't know why, just an instinct. After we wrapped I asked him, "Shep, given how dire your illness was, you must have really wanted to stay on the planet. Why did you want to stay?" Shep being a JewBu (Jewish Buddhist), was perplexed by the question. He said in his thick Long Island accent, "I never really thought of it as an ‘I’ coming back. It felt more like a ‘we’ situation." The showman became the shaman. Has making this film changed your relationship with Shep? If so, how? I loved Shep before I began this film and now having spent time listening to Shep and all his friends saying the nicest things about him, I love him even more. He really is a Mensch. Ask anyone. DOGWOOF | 102 Hatton Square Business Centre | 16 Baldwin Gardens |London | EC1N 7RJ | UK Tel: +44 20 7831 7252 | [email protected] ABOUT SHEP… SHEP GORDON (Subject) After a childhood in Oceanside, NY, and a degree from SUNY at Buffalo, Shep Gordon founded Alive Enterprises, a personal management company, in 1969. Over the years, Gordon and Alive have been responsible for managing the careers of Alice Cooper, Groucho Marx, Raquel Welch, Anne Murray, Ben Vereen, Teddy Pendergrass, Stephanie Mills, Blondie, Manhattan Transfer, Burton Cummings, Yvonne Elliman, Midnight Star, George Clinton, Luther Vandross, Rick James, Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, Kenny Loggins, Gipsy Kings, the Pointer Sisters and many more. Alive acts have sold over 100 million albums worldwide. Gordon and Alive set many precedents in the music industry including the first television production of an album (Alice Cooper’s “Welcome to My Nightmare), the first long form rock video produced for home release (Blondie’s “Eat to the Beat”), and one of the first concert television series (“Rock and Roll Tonight”), all of which inspired a new generation of music video and theatrical rock concert productions. In the mid 70’s, Alive ventured into the movie business where its first production Ridley Scott’s The Duellists won the Best Debut Film award at the 1977 Cannes Film Festival. After several studio productions, including Roadie and Endangered Species, Gordon co-founded with Chris Blackwell and Island Records, Island Alive and Alive Films, for the production of independent feature films. Their commitment to artistic freedom attracted influential filmmakers and has been responsible for the production and/or distribution of the Academy Award-winning Kiss of the Spider Woman, Academy Award-nominated Betty Blue, Marlene and El Norte, Lindsay Anderson’s The Whales of August, Alan Rudolph’s Choose Me and The Moderns, John Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness, They Live and Village of the Damned, Wes Craven’s People Under the Stairs, Sam Shepard’s Silent Tongue, as well as 40 other titles. In 1975, Alive expanded into the restaurant industry with the opening of its first restaurant, Carlos’n Charlies, which became a Hollywood institution for 20 years. Then in the late 1980’s, Alive partnered with Robert De Niro to open Tribeca Grill in New York City. Alive’s restaurant business is still active having opened approximately 40 restaurants thus far, the most current being a founding partnership in Jean-Georges’ Spice Market in New York City. Gordon’s management style has always involved an eye for talent and an innate understanding of what people find entertaining.