They could only go their own way for so long (sorry). As has long seemed to be only a matter of time (and general stubbornness), iconic band Fleetwood Mac is finally getting their very own “fully authorized” documentary.
Apple Original Films announced on Tuesday the “definitive” and still-untitled new documentary, directed by five-time Academy Award nominee and Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Oscar winner Frank Marshall (“The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend A Broken Heart,” “The Beach Boys,” “Rather”). And yes, as today’s press release tells us, “for the first time ever, Grammy Award-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Fleetwood Mac share their extraordinary story in their own words.” If they’ll share that story together in the same room at the same time, well, we’re not betting on it.
While the band has inspired a number of documentaries over the years, none have been fully authorized and with the participation of all the band’s living members. Fans eager to bone up now can actually turn to Apple for the assist: the 2006 film “Fleetwood Mac: Rumours” and the 2012 offering “The Story of Fleetwood Mac” (which did feature interviews with Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie) are already available to stream on Apple TV+. Stevie Nicks alone has long been the subject of rumored biopics, with our last check-in finding Kate Hudson wanting to “go Method” for the potential role.
“I am fascinated by how this incredible story of enormous musical achievement came about. Fleetwood Mac somehow managed to merge their often chaotic and almost operatic personal lives into their own tale in real time, which then became legend. This will be a film about the music and the people who created it,” said director Marshall in an official statement.
Added producer Nicholas Ferrall, “Fleetwood Mac are a musical phenomenon, their alchemy almost beyond comprehension. White Horse is grateful and humbled by the extraordinary opportunity to produce a documentary that dives deep into both the talents of each band member individually and the magic that is Fleetwood Mac as a whole.”
Per today’s announcement, the film will follow “their fortuitous meeting in 1974” and see Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham, and Stevie Nicks “reflect on their uncompromising fifty-plus-year history, from their record-breaking recordings and tours — including never-before-seen footage, exclusive new interviews, and archival interviews of the late Christine McVie — through to today. The film will explore how the band’s trials and tribulations, personal resilience, and musical dexterity combined to create songs that have not only stood the test of time but are indeed timeless masterpieces.”
Marshall’s film promises to “take fans through the highs and lows of their brilliant career, illuminating the exceptional ingredients each member brought to the band’s uncommon alchemy — a musical union that sold more than 220 million records around the world. The documentary will explore what allowed this combination of artists to create singular musical work again and again, and what drew them back together and held them there when every possible pressure, both outside and inside the band, threatened to blow them apart.”
Director Frank Marshall produces through The Kennedy/Marshall Company with White Horse Pictures’ Nicholas Ferrall (“The Beatles: Eight Days A Week,” “Stax: Soulsville, U.S.A.”) and Jeanne Elfant Festa (“The Apollo,” “Lucy and Desi”), and Kennedy/Marshall’s Aly Parker (“The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend A Broken Heart,” “The Space Race”). White Horse’s Cassidy Hartmann executive produces with Kennedy/Marshall’s Tony Rosenthal. Diamond Doc’s Mark Monroe serves as writer and executive producer.
