I’m excited that there’s going to be a film that features Leland Sklar. Who is Sklar? He’s one of the top session bassists who toured with Phil Collins and others over the decades. I encountered Leland on a night in 1984 when I had somehow volunteered to be front stage security for James Taylor at a benefit concert. Why would a scrawny kid be the placed between Sweet Baby James and a packed house of middle-aged women who swore he wrote “Fire & Rain” about him? I haven’t a clue. There was no rushing the stage so it was a pretty easy evening. The only bad part was when James Taylor’s mother tried to get backstage without a pass. That woman spent the entire show giving me a death stare. In the midst of the strangeness, I remember looking back at the stage and getting a smile and nod from Leland. His reassurance stuck with me ever since. I’ve spotted Leland on various projects since then. Now with the arrival of Immediate Family, I get to know more about Leland and other musicians he’s played with over the years. The movie was directed by Denny Tedesco. His documentary The Wrecking Crew got us to know the previous generation of session musicians. Immediate Family comes out in March on Blu-ray, DVD and other formats. Here’s the press release from Magnolia:
AUDIENCE CHOICE WINNER WOODSTOCK FILM FESTIVAL
IMMEDIATE FAMILY
Witness the Birth of the Singer-Songwriter in the 70’s Featuring Legendary Musicians Carole King, Linda Ronstadt, Stevie Nicks, Phil Collins and More When the Transportive Documentary Arrives on Blu-Ray, DVD and On Demand on March 12 from Magnolia Home Entertainment.
Synopsis
IMMEDIATE FAMILY tracks the rise and collaborations of a group of legendary session musicians Danny Kortchmar, Leland Sklar, Russ Kunkel, and Waddy Wachtel through the 1970s and onward, chronicling their illustrious partnerships and their formidable record of hit-making. Directed by Denny Tedesco, whose documentary The Wrecking Crew followed the first wave of studio musicians in the 60s, the film reveals the machinery behind the booming era of the singer-songwriter, when the talents of these four musicians were in furious demand. 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 including Carole King, James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Keith Richards, Don Henley, Stevie Nicks, David Crosby, Jackson Browne, Lyle Lovett, Phil Collins, and more IMMEDIATE FAMILY is a backstage tour spanning multiple eras of musical history.
Release Details
Street Date Release: March 12, 2024
Digital Availability: Apple TV, Prime Video, Vudu, Google Play, DirecTV and more
Run Time: 102 Minutes
Rating: Not Rated
SRP: $29.98 (Blu-Ray), $26.98 (DVD)
Catalog: Blu-Ray (11810), DVD (11809)
Special Features: TBD
About Magnolia Home Entertainment
Magnolia Home Entertainment is the home entertainment distribution arm of Magnolia Pictures, a leading theatrical independent film distributor for more than 20 years, and Wagner/Cuban Companies. Featuring more than 1,000 celebrated titles across film and TV, recent releases include MASTER GARDENER, starring three-time Academy AwardⓇ nominee Sigourney Weaver and Golden GlobeⓇ nominee Joel Edgerton; the Rotten TomatoesⓇ’ Certified Fresh documentary LITTLE RICHARD: I AM EVERYTHING; I LOVE MY DAD, the SXSW Film Festival ‘Audience Award’ and ‘Grand Jury Award’ winner; COLLECTIVE, the 2021 Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary Feature and International Feature Film; ONCE WERE BROTHERS: ROBBIE ROBERTSON AND THE BAND, executive produced by Academy Award winners Martin Scorsese, Brian Grazer and Ron Howard; 2018 Cannes Palme d’Or winner and Academy Award nominated SHOPLIFTERS; box office sensation and Academy Award nominated documentary, RBG; and Raoul Peck’s Academy Award nominated I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO, based on the unfinished manuscript by James Baldwin. Magnolia Home Entertainment was one of the earliest entrants in the digital marketplace and has firmly established itself as a leader in the streaming space with its dedicated streaming services, including Magnolia Selects, which highlights the finest in independent cinema and represents some of the very best in storytelling entertainment from the most renowned visual artists in the world today, alongside curated genre channels Monsters & Nightmares, Warriors & Gangsters, Crack Me Up and DOX. Magnolia Home Entertainment also offers a dedicated FAST channel, CINELIFEⓇ.
