Thom Zimny’s “Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band” is quite a bit different than his past collaborations with Springsteen. In the past, like with “Western Stars” and “Letter to You,” the focus was on the project at hand. “Road Diary” isn’t about a specific album, it’s a more all-encompassing look at the E Street Band’s origins and how 50 some years of touring informs Springsteen’s latest tour … and being well-aware he’s in his seventies now and this isn’t going to last forever.
Springsteen’s last tour ended in 2016, in support of his 1980 album “The River,” with the release of a set of outtakes and the band playing the double album from start to finish — before eventually moving into one the most spontaneous eras of their concerts in the history of E Street.
After almost seven years away from touring — which included a pandemic and the loss of friends — Springsteen returned to the road in early 2023 with a new purpose and message. The “anything can happen” set lists were replaced by a focused message* of what Springsteen wants to convey to his audience. There’s a theme of death, but there’s also the knockout, powerhouse show fans expect … with Bruce still performing three hours-plus, night after night, that puts much younger performers to shame.
*To be clear, it’s not the same set list every show. I’ve been to seven shows on this current tour and none have been the same. But they don’t change quite as much as they used to.
Ahead, Zimny takes us through what it’s like to follow E Street on tour and how the band has changed over the years. And he discusses the revelation in the film, which just premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, about Patti Scialfa’s health and why she left this current tour early on.
The following interview has been edited and condensed.
IndieWire: What has been different in what you perceive of Bruce in this tour versus prior tours? Obviously, the setlists are more set in stone than before, which is a big topic in the film…
Thom Zimny: With this tour, with this film, the first thing I saw that was different with Bruce approaching the tour was this focus on the setlist and in the rehearsals — walking into the room and seeing the band engage and hug and put on their guitars, getting ready to play. I also saw this very important visual, which was Bruce taking out the classic notebook that he carries — this school notebook — and I could tell from his handwriting there was all these different songs and all these different scratching out of different songs and piecing together. That visual, early on, told me that there was something going on with the set list.
When do you bring this topic up to him?
I don’t bring it up. I don’t bring up the idea of seeing the details that sometimes end up in the story as themes, because I don’t want my presence to take them out of a moment. “Road Diary” is an example of that freedom that you get as a filmmaker when people don’t notice you, they forget you’re there. I knew that there was things I always wanted to explore that “Road Diary” would give me the chance to tap into, which is “Bruce, the band leader.”
I saw, in the rehearsal, something happened when he placed certain songs against each other, that was creating an emotion. And then when I saw it played live for an audience, that’s when the film really took off. You stand in that shadow a little bit as a filmmaker and try to mimic it, but what I’m saying is “Road Diary” gave me this chance to tell many different stories, try to have many different emotions. Bruce’s concerts are not one tone.
Well, I want to ask about “not one tone.” There’s his quote, basically, “When we came back from the pandemic, I want this to be the biggest party in the world,” ut it’s also a show about death. How do you wrap your head around that?
I think I wrap my head around the themes that Bruce creates as a filmmaker by wearing many hats. I’m in a lucky place, because I get to step in and out of all the experiences I’ve had with this music, and try to invite an audience to go along this ride with me, where you have this private moment where Bruce is telling you, in voiceover, over some of his thoughts about acknowledgement of mortality, time — and also, you have this other moment where we can join in and celebrate the community of the live show.
At this point, how does the collaboration work? Do you get full freedom or do you get emails from Jon Landau like, “There’s chance that part goes in”?
I think there’s never been these parameters of “you can’t shoot” or “you can’t tell a certain story.” I think the dialogue I’ve had with Jon Landau and Bruce has been always in the space of, “How can we make this story better?” It’s never been limitations, like, “We’ll not cover this, we’ll not shoot this.” There was nothing. I was told nothing more than show up. And these are the dates the band’s getting together, and there’s no preconceived point of view. So they’re not working in an idea of, this is about anything other than, “Let’s see what the film tells us,” and the kind of suggestions and the ideas that we discuss…
Some of the creative conversations I have are small enough to be about details of, “What song?,” and, “Where do we come in, and where are we getting out?,” and we will try 16 versions of “Born to Run.” That’s a part of my work ethic. Bruce is noticing every detail.
Speaking of details, you show an early setlist from rehearsal, one of them had “Tucson Train” on it. He had said songs from “Western Stars” would only be played live once, for that film. I guess he briefly changed his mind?
I leave that stuff in the films. I always try to have many different doorways for you to step in, and if you’re an uber-fan, you can see the setlist and see a moment like that. I always try to leave little details in for the people who have seen 400 shows. And I also know not to go too deep in the weeds with some of that, because you want an emotional story.
I was actually surprised that you have someone in the crew who’s kind of critical of the current setlist and prefers the spontaneity. And it’s clear the band disagrees.
Yeah, exactly. I think it’s never been presented where they establish, “This is the point of view of the band, this is the point of view of Bruce’s world.” I had conflicting points of view. And also, I had a development of explaining E Street history, in a way, where Steven’s being the musical director was a new item in the film to be discussed.
So what I think “Road Diary” gave me was this way of working with tools to tell a story, which is the interviews are giving you a sense of history, but also new information that can explain where the band is in the moment.
What is your interpretation of what Bruce is prioritizing now? Obviously the setlist, but in the documentary, he’s not as interested in rehearsals and, from following the tour, I know he hasn’t been doing sound checks as often.
I think the film has these moments where you hear the organic process of an artist developing and feeling confident and uncertain things. I think the film showed me ways that Bruce and the band have grown over the years and the sound check is a perfect example — where he can trust, at this stage in the touring, to have the best team. The thing that I think gives him a little bit of freedom not to obsess over details of sound check is Steven coming up and stepping up as a musical director to get the sounds and details right … he doesn’t have to worry about it anymore.
Patti Scialfa revealed to you the reason she left the tour early on because she has multiple myeloma, which we didn’t know before. Were you sure she wanted to talk about that? I know fans have been curious. And Bruce is different when she’s there, he’s more playful, and she’s been missed…
Absolutely.
So how was that approached?
The interviews I did with all the band were for a long time, and the space where Patti talked about why she’s been limited on doing the live performances and the concerts came in that natural setting of knowing me for 24 years — and just talking about the music and liking and enjoying playing. It was an organic moment that happened.
For me, it was a really important story point, because she is so essential to both the E Street sound and presence of the band on stage. It’s also a great honor for me as a filmmaker that she gave me that space to share that and trust in conversation. It was part of a conversation that the film touches upon, which is dealing with all the elements of the journey, which are sometimes really beautiful, sometimes reflective, and sometimes really hard. I think Patti’s performance in it with “Fire” was one of the amazing moments of the tour. I was so happy to get that.
That was LA, right?
It was in LA, and she brings such a glow and a joy to the performances. I’m just excited for her now, because she’s doing new music, and it’s just amazing.
Another thing that happened during the tour was obviously, a lot of shows were canceled last year because of Bruce’s health. Bruce is not shy about this. He jokes about it on stage. So what was the decision-making process to not really get into that in the film?
I think at the time that Bruce was struggling with some of the stomach issues and other things, I was already making the film, and I was in the mixing process, so it didn’t seem like something … the film talks to you, and I think I wasn’t trying to cover every section of E Street history. I was trying to have this moment that you felt like you stepped into the tour. And it’s this moving freight train, and these guys have changed, and the world has changed, and the audience. What does it mean, and how do these songs reflect those themes, but also, how does this show give you a renewed sense of self?
But it’s a film about Bruce wrestling with his own mortality, and then he had to cancel a bunch of shows. That’s new. That’s never happened before. So that would fit the theme? But at the same time, I could see you not wanting to end the film on that note.
Yeah, no, I mean, sometimes… What I’ll say is that it’s harder to find the voiceover that Bruce brings where he has this level of truth where he says, “I’m going to keep doing this until the wheels fall off.” The facts of him being sick and shows being canceled are details of facts for me.
I see.
The film side of me connects to the bigger ideas that are timeless, and that timeless idea is hearing Bruce say, “I’m not giving up. There’s no stopping us now. It’s too late to stop. We’re going to keep going.” That commitment, I felt like, was demonstrated in the footage all throughout the film and it ends with that theme at the end, in his voiceover. So those are the bigger things, I think, that are harder to chase. It’s almost like the fact of him not touring … it’s too simple. I don’t know if that makes sense. It’s a box to check for a fact, in some ways.
I see what you’re saying, because the film isn’t just about this tour. It’s more all encompassing than your last films focusing on one project.
That’s exactly what I was trying to say, and I think you nailed it. It’s like, I look back on the time with Bruce and Jon and the band making these films and there’s a conversation that I see that Bruce has been having since the Broadway film, where he talked to the fans about his life. And there’s a certain tonal quality to these films that lead me to the current one of “Road Diary.”
I think his book is a big part of it too.
Yeah, huge. So there is that self-reflection …. it’s a great thing, as a director, to receive a text late at night that has voiceover on a sequence that you’ve been working on, that takes it to a whole other level. I sort of chase the dream of it until we get to the place and Bruce says, “I think we’re there,” but he never really says that. He just says, “OK.” In 24 years, he’s never once said to me, “We’re done,” and that, to me, is a testament to the man.
I’ve heard him on stage say, “Close enough,” which always makes me laugh.
Yeah, never calls and says, “The movie’s done.” I’ve never heard it.
“Road Diary” premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. It will start streaming on Hulu and Disney+ on Friday, October 25.
