Devo Doc In Production
• BMG, Fremantle Documentaries, and Warner Music Entertainment (WME) are proud to announce their first collaborative feature film, DEVO. The upcoming full-length documentary, currently in production, will also be the first-ever fully authorized film on the New Wave/Rock group.
Originally formed in 1973, Devo banded together initially as performance artists, disillusioned and radicalized by the shooting at Kent State where they were students. Their artistry was a commentary on corruption in the United States, the perceived “dumbing down” of an entire generation by mass media, and the commodification of a poisoned society.
With a mixture of archival footage, interviews from other characters in their orbit and a range of storytelling techniques the film’s inventive narrative will parallel the revolutionary creativity the band is known for. Ultimately, DEVO explores Devo’s evolution from hippie artistes to art-rockers with a message, to their unexpected mainstream success as a hit rock band and the pioneers of the MTV age with their breakout hit, “Whip It.”
Director Chris Smith comments, “Devo was a huge influence on me. Their approach to music, film, video and art was something I had never seen before and was one of the truly formative artistic influences that showed me there were entirely new ways to look at things.”
Bertelsmann companies BMG and Fremantle Documentaries, and WME are executive producers and financiers of the film, with all rights available worldwide. [Photo credit: Robert Matheu, 9/81]
