Beatles fans learn of funny encounters with the fab 4 and famous fans in BEATLES STORIES

Posted September 19, 2012 at 7:41pm by Jennifer Moxley

It took director Seth Swirsky eight years to complete “Beatles Stories,” a compilation of interviews with people who share funny, endearing and private stories of the band that inspired the “British invasion.”

“They’re the greatest cultural phenomenon in the 10,000 years of mankind,” Swirsky said. “What’s bigger?”

The filmmaker’s own fervor for the Beatles shines throughout the film.

“This is the only movie ever made about the Beatles from a fan’s point of view, especially an historian,” said Swirsky.

The movie maker used a simple concept to capture the story. He interviewed more than 100 people from Hollywood A-listers to people whose names you’ll never recall again. Swirksy didn’t have a crew, he didn’t have audio technicians. He relied on a hand-held camera, and two microphones.

“To me it was about feeling, of actually going and speaking to these people about the Beatles. I thought to myself, ‘a lot of Beatles fans might like this.’ It wasn’t about ‘Is it perfectly shot?’”

Swirsky was born in 1960 and was playing guitar by the time he was 7 or 8 and said the Beatles’ music influenced him in such a powerful way he was driven to pay homage through a documentary. The Beatles have also influenced Swirksy over the years as a musician.

Swirsky has a solid reputation as a song and movie theme writer. His resume includes songs for Tina Turner and Smokey Robinson. Robinson is just one of the numerous celebrities Swirsky interviewed for the documentary.

Ben Kingsley, John Voight, Davey Jones, and Art Garfunkle are a few household names who appear in, “Beatles Stories.”

Swirksy may have nailed some big name interviews, but he is just as proud of the unknown interviews he captured.

He scoured up former engineers for the band, makeup artists, even the comedy couple who performed on the Ed Sullivan that landmark night, February 9, 1964.

Swirsky pieced together the stories and memories of the music icons from first-hand perspectives most would overlook.

Swirsky said he usually only asked for 10 minutes with an interview subject, but so many of his interviews would rekindle memories they hadn’t thought of in decades. Swirsky said four of the people he interviewed in the film have already passed away. His film serves as an archive of their testimony and story.

“‘Beatles Stories,’ was doing all the interviews and then making a collage of what fits next to what.You don’t think too hard, but you’re feeling something very deeply and you have an instinct to where it goes. It was a way for me to get deeper into their world and my love of them.”

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Jennifer Moxley is a former News 14 on air reporter and is the co-owner of Nomadic Communications. For more information call Nomadic Communications at 866-519-7723 or visit www.nomadic-comm.com or e-mail Garland Ervin at garland@nomadic-comm.com