What Makes a Great Music Biopic?

Summary

Podcast Summary: "What Makes a Great Music Biopic?"

Podcast: All Of It with Alison Stewart (WNYC)
Air Date: October 27, 2025
Guests: Warren Zanes (Author, Deliver Me from the Making of Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska), Stephen Thompson (NPR Music, Pop Culture Happy Hour)

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Overview

This episode dives into the art and importance of great music biopics—films that dramatize the lives of legendary musicians—and considers what sets apart the transcendent from the forgettable. Host Alison Stewart first chats with Warren Zanes about Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska and its adaptation into a new film. Later, Stephen Thompson of NPR joins to dissect biopic tropes, standout performances, and listener favorites. The conversation spans cinematic technique, authenticity, and the transformative power of music storytelling.

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Key Discussions & Insights

1. Personal Connections to Springsteen’s "Nebraska"

(00:09–07:25)

• Callers’ Reflections:

  • Ed (Sunset Park), a Jersey native, shares how Nebraska’s stillness and space allowed him to truly engage with Springsteen’s artistry, contrasting it with the artist's radio hits.
    • "Nebraska was the album for me that slowed it down and made me really listen to what he was doing… that stillness that he created in that album really opened my eyes." — Ed [01:00]
  • Susan (Hopewell) highlights the emotional resonance of a live reading by Zanes, and notes the film’s handling of Springsteen’s mental health struggles:
    • "To see both the creative process, but then also to see Bruce's spiral into this dark, dark depression, I just think actually this film is going to help so many people." — Susan [04:50]

• Zanes on "Nebraska"’s Legacy:

  • Explains how Nebraska’s intimacy built unprecedented trust between Springsteen and his audience, preparing listeners for later works like Born in the USA.
    • "The intimacy of Nebraska… he trusted us as listeners. He didn't promote it. He didn't tell us how to hear it. I believe that among fans, a lot had that experience of, 'I trust this guy, but he also trusts me.'” — Warren Zanes [02:22]
  • On the album’s enduring power:
    • "The best art goes out and surprises people, including the artist...here we are four plus decades later, still asking questions about it." — Warren Zanes [06:07]
  • On imperfection:
    • "There's something about its imperfection... Here we are in awe of the power of this unfixed work of art." — Warren Zanes [07:13]

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2. The Genre of the Music Biopic: What Works and What Doesn’t

(07:45–12:41)

• Why Music Biopics Endure:

  • Stephen Thompson outlines why the genre remains popular and lucrative: compelling personal drama, beloved music catalogues, and “awards juice.”
    • “It can kind of serve the purposes of almost like a jukebox musical... that has proven enormously lucrative.” — Stephen Thompson [08:58]
  • Even critically panned films can become box office hits, e.g., Bohemian Rhapsody, Bob Marley: One Love.
    • "The Amy Winehouse movie was garbage. But there have been a lot of very successful music biopics, including a movie I despised, Bohemian Rhapsody." — Stephen Thompson [09:22]

• Taxonomy of a Great Biopic
  Thompson lists four key elements for success:

  1. Transcendent central performance
  2. A larger point of view—the film should be about more than just the artist
  3. Trope subversion—avoid cradle-to-grave, Wikipedia-style storytelling
  4. Narrowed scope—focusing on a defining period
     Applies this framework particularly to the new Springsteen film.

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3. Standout Biopic Performances and their Nuances

(12:41–19:34)

• Jeremy Allen White as Bruce Springsteen

  • Thompson notes restraint and authenticity, avoiding mere mimicry in favor of embodying Springsteen’s energy:
    • "I appreciate that the film is more restrained than that... he's really capturing the energy of Springsteen as a performer." — Stephen Thompson [12:19]
  • Listeners (e.g., Robin, acting teacher) highlight the challenge of learning new skills—singing, guitar—for biopic roles.

• Actor vs. Imitator: Craft vs. Caricature

  • "You really want to embody the person and not just tick off a series of mannerisms...The most successful performances give you the spirit and the feel for the performer." — Stephen Thompson [18:24]
  • Listener Robin praises Gary Busey in The Buddy Holly Story and Dennis Quaid in Great Balls of Fire as magnetic examples.

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4. Biopics Offering More Than a “Filmed Wikipedia Page”

(19:34–21:28)

• Discussing Angela Bassett in What’s Love Got To Do With It:

  • The film transcends the genre by exploring Tina Turner’s journey through adversity—not just her music, but her life’s emotional arcs.
    • "You can tell a larger story about overcoming abuse...you're able to tap into a lot of human emotion and human conflict that extends beyond music." — Stephen Thompson [20:22]

• The importance of showing an artist’s failings and vulnerability—exemplified by Johnny Cash’s own request to be the “villain” of his story in Walk the Line, a humility that elevates the film.

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5. Listener Favorites & Alternative Takes

(16:29–23:57)

• Control (Joy Division) praised for artistic focus on a brief, turbulent period.
• Amadeus, The Buddy Holly Story, Great Balls of Fire cited for performances and storytelling.
• Ray (Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles) described by listeners as unexpectedly absorbing and revelatory, especially for those unfamiliar with Charles' music.
• Stephen Thompson:
  • "Ray is another one that people hold up as kind of a classic example...building a complete character beyond that is what makes a movie like that transcend." [23:21]

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6. Biopic Satire and the Importance of Self-Awareness

(23:57–25:50)

• The panel agrees that satire enhances the genre:
  • Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story affectionately lampoons biopic clichés and beats.
    • "A lot of biopic satires work extremely well in part because people know what these tropes are, people know what these cliches are." — Stephen Thompson [24:28]
  • Other favorites: Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, and the classic This Is Spinal Tap.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Test of Time:
  • "The best art goes out and surprises people...he packed it with power, but he didn’t know what was going to happen with it." — Warren Zanes [06:07]
• Why not every biopic works:
  • "My least favorite music biopic pitfall is when you can see the agendas of the people involved in making the film." — Stephen Thompson [15:00]
• On Musicians as Characters:
  • "They're really giving you the spirit and the feel for the performer—who they were, why they were magnetic. And that's one of the biggest challenges." — Stephen Thompson [18:47]
• Genre Self-Parody:
  • "It's a really great way to get into... classic comedy... four of my favorite music biopics were satires." — Stephen Thompson [25:03]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:09–07:25: Springsteen’s Nebraska, personal reflections and the new biopic
• 07:45–12:41: Introduction to the music biopic genre with Stephen Thompson
• 12:41–19:34: Great performances, what sets them apart, and listener favorites
• 19:34–21:28: What’s Love Got To Do With It and how biopics transcend music
• 21:28–23:57: Further insights on Ray and biopic storytelling
• 23:57–25:50: Satire in music biopics and its role in the genre

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Conclusion

Through calls, expert analysis, and lively discussion, this episode highlights that great music biopics are about more than musical mimicry—they must embody their subjects' spirit, avoid shallow trope repetition, and dare to show vulnerability and complexity. Standout performances, creative storytelling, and a willingness to transcend formula, as well as even poke fun at it, are what keep audiences coming back to this uniquely potent cinematic form.

Transcript

[Alison Stewart]

You are listening to all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. My guest in studio is Warren Zanes. He's the author of the book Deliver Me from the Making of Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska. Let's talk to Ed, who's calling in from Sunset Park. Hi, Edge.

[Ed]

Hi. How are you doing?

[Alison Stewart]

Great. You're on the radio.

[Susan]

Great.

[Ed]

Awesome. Yeah, I'm calling from Sunset park from. I am originally from Jersey. Exit 117 or exit 114 for those that know. Yeah, so Bruce Springsteen, you know, as a kid growing up in a dry is hanging out in the driveway in Jersey at my mom's. I always heard Born to Run. I always heard, you know, Asbury. And the radio really, really was always putting Bruce in front of me. So it kind of made me sort of push back on really hearing Bruce. You know, I knew I knew the stuff, but it didn't really get in me. Nebraska was, was the album for me that slowed it down and made me really listen to what he was doing. And that State Trooper song, if you've ever been on the parkway or the turnpike, know what that's like when you have. When you have that foreboding, like, oh, my God, like, please, you know, I. I just need to keep moving sort of thing. And that, that sort of stillness that he created in that album really opened my eyes to what he was doing. And it really did make me. And I don't, you know, I'm. I'm from Jersey, but I can't say, yeah, I'm Jersey proud. But it really made me feel like, wow, this is, this, this is something going on here with, with what he's doing. And I'm so glad that this, this biopic, this movie that's out is. Has a touchstone to Nebraska because it's, you know, it's just. It definitely is one of those albums that just kind of was like. Was jaw dropping for me. I. The left turn that you guys are talking about, I'm so with that because I. It just, it just held a certain space for me when I needed it, you know, so that.

[Alison Stewart]

Ed, you know, I'm going to. I'm going to dive in here real quick. Let me get your response that Warren.

[Unidentified Speaker]

Well.

[Warren Zanes]

I love these responses, so thank you to the people who called in, but I feel like we've got two people saying Nebraska got me fully on board with wherever he was going to take me next. And I hear the word stillness. I think that was the effect for a lot of people. The intimacy of Nebraska, however, haunted however much violence, however much desperation it got us in the room with them, there was that intimacy. He trusted us as listeners, that we could take a complicated record in. He didn't promote it. He didn't tell us how to hear it. I believe that among fans, a lot had that experience of, I trust this guy, but he also trusts me and got everybody closer. And it prepared them for that explosive moment of global superstardom that was Born in the usa. And when you're thinking through the lens of Nebraska, you hear Born in the USA differently. There's a lot of material. Ronald Reagan was getting it wrong, but a lot of us weren't. It's a very dark record, but Nebraska is the clue to that darkness.

[Alison Stewart]

What clue is he giving?

[Warren Zanes]

The characters of Nebraska are family with the characters of Born in the usa. And so if you listen with that in mind, I feel like you get closer to Bruce's intentions for Born in the usa.

[Alison Stewart]

Let's talk to Susan and Hopewell. Susan, thank you for making the time to call all of it. You're on the air.

[Susan]

Hey, thanks so much. Hi, Alison.

[Robin]

Hey, Warren.

[Susan]

I was so lucky to see Warren do a reading of the book last year in this tiny performance space in Hopewell with a band. It was amazing, and it really started to bring the story to life for me. But then I read the book, and I felt like, because there was so much music Bruce was listening to while he was working on Nebraska that I just didn't know about, that I, like, wanted the soundtrack to the book. So the movie sort of put it all together for me. We went on opening on Friday night. It was amazing. Congratulations. And, yeah, it was so good. But we loved the intimacy of that performance. Warren, that you did, it was incredible. But then to see it all, like, on the screen and to see both the creative process, but then also to see Bruce's spiral into this dark, dark depression, I just think actually this film is going to help so many people as well, to see how people struggle and how people can come through it. So it's just. It was a tremendous, tremendous film and book. And thank you.

[Warren Zanes]

Thank you so much. I mean, that's very meaningful to me. And, you know, yesterday I did a house concert on Staten island. And the movement between something like that, which is. Which is a very grassroots kind of movement to, you know, theater chains and a 20th Century Studios project.

[Alison Stewart]

Oh, boy.

[Warren Zanes]

That also tells you something about how Nebraska travels. Just as I was saying about the great Christian Dior fashion show, Nebraska is so surprising to me, the way it moves through the world. And I think, you know, I said earlier, I think it still is to Bruce. Like he created this thing. It could have gone one way or the other, but he sent it out into the world and it started doing things for decades, doing things that he didn't plan. And I just think the best art goes out and surprises people, including the artist. You know, he packed it with power, but he didn't know what was going to happen with it. There was no blueprint. Yet here we are four plus decades later, still asking questions about it. And I think there's something about its imperfection. There's something about its unfinished quality. There's something about the fact that even Bruce couldn't intervene once he said, it's that cassette I'm putting out. He couldn't fix anything. And we live in an age where we can fix a lot. We can tune vocals, we can fix our faces on Instagram. We can get plastic surgery. And here we are in awe of the power of this unfixed work of art.

[Alison Stewart]

The name of the book is Deliver Me from the Making of Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska. I've been speaking to Warren Zanes. Thank you for coming to the studio. Really appreciate it.

[Warren Zanes]

A real honor to be with you.

[Alison Stewart]

This is all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. We've just been talking to Warren Zanes, the author of the book that served as the basis for the new movie Springsteen's Deliver Me from Nowhere. The movie enters into a long legacy of music biopics. The last couple of years alone have seen the lives of Bob Dylan and Elvis portrayed on screen, plus less successful attempts about Bob Marley and Amy Winehouse. The genre has even transformed Pharrell Williams into Legos and Robin Williams, excuse me, Robbie Williams into a monkey. It can also lean into the Oscar run. Reese Witherspoon won best actress for playing June Carter Cash in Walk the Line. There's Coal Miner's Daughter, Lady Sings the Blues. Listeners, what music biopics do you love? What do they do well? Or maybe you don't like the genre? What do they do poorly? Give us a call or text us at 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692. To talk about what makes a musical biopic work and why some do not, I'm joined by NPR music and pop culture Happy hour host Stephen Thompson. Stephen, welcome back, Alison.

[Stephen Thompson]

It's great to be here.

[Alison Stewart]

Why is the music biopic a genre unto itself?

[Stephen Thompson]

Well, I mean, I think it fits into a lot of It's a pretty easy genre to sum up and to categorize. It is, you know, it's. It's a biographical drama that naturally contains a lot of music. It can kind of serve the purposes of almost like a jukebox musical where it's like, you know, the artist now you are kind of a reenactment of their life with a bunch of their most popular songs. And that has proven enormously lucrative. I mean, you mentioned the Bob Marley biopic and kind of referred to it as unsuccessful, but it was a box office hit. That Amy Winehouse movie was garbage. But there have been a lot of very successful music biopics, including a movie I despised, Bohemian Rhapsody, which is a biopic about Queen, and it won Rami Malek an Oscar for best actor. It is a genre that produces a lot of awards juice and makes a lot of money at the box office, even though obviously along the way you've seen a lot of terrible ones and a lot of music biopics that have flopped.

[Alison Stewart]

What do the best music biopics? What do they do? Well.

[Stephen Thompson]

Well, I think basically you want your music biopic to check at least one of the following four boxes. Love a taxonomy. You want a transcendent performance at the center, right? This is such a showcase for a great performer, you know, to kind of showcase their. Their, you know, impersonation abilities, maybe their singing abilities. That's part of why these are such awards bait. Another. I think you want a larger point of view. I want. I think you want it to be about more than just the artist in question, which I think is something that this Springsteen movie does really well. Three, I think you want to, at times, be willing to subvert the tropes of biopics. You don't just want these kind of cradle to grave filmed Wikipedia entries. You want to kind of switch it up and find new ways in maybe experimental techniques. The fourth thing that also the Springsteen movie does really well is narrowing the scope. Again, Cradle to Grave, Wikipedia, I don't want to see it in a movie. Show me a sliver of an artist's career that illuminates something greater about them. And that is something, I think the Springsteen movie, because it focuses on this very creatively fruitful and fraught period where he's writing not only Nebraska, but also Born in the usa. You manage to keep the scope really, really tight in ways that make it much more interesting.

[Alison Stewart]

What did you think of Jeremy Allen White? What did you think of his take on Bruce?

[Stephen Thompson]

I mean, I think he does a great job. I think it's a very good performance. It's a very committed performance. Going into this movie, I really had a bit of dread of like, whoa, this movie stars some of the most actorly actors imaginable, right? Like Jeremy Allen White is super intense. Jeremy Strong, who plays John Landau, his manager. Jeremy Strong is kind of a legendarily intense kind of method actor. And so I was like, man, I'm going to be seeing actors just acting all over the place. And I appreciate that the film is more restrained than that and that this performance is more constrained than more restrained and constrained. But at the same time, you know, he's singing. He's also singing these songs himself, a la Timothee. Chalamet is Bob Dylan and a complete unknown last year. And, you know, I think he does a very, very passable Bruce Springsteen and really captures and conveys the energy of Springsteen as a performer.

[Alison Stewart]

I'm talking to Stephen Thompson from npr. We are talking music biopics. Which music biopics do you love? Which ones don't do that much for you? Give us a call, 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692. I want to talk about Walk the Line. It's a film that many people go to when they think of a really good music biopic. All the performances, whether it be Reese Witherspoon or Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash. It was directed by James Mangold, who did A Complete unknown. Let's hear a clip and we can talk about it on the other side. This is the Folsom prison scene.

[Actor Clip Voice]

Once in El Paso, I have this bag. Are you heard about that. You been in El Paso, too? Anyways, I felt tough, you know, like I'd seen a thing or two, you know. Well, that was till a moment ago. Cause I gotta tell you, my hat's off to you now. Cause I ain't never had a drink. This yellow water you got here at.

[Alison Stewart]

Folston.

[Actor Clip Voice]

This Honestly Award. Early one morning while making the rounds, I took a shot of cocaine and I shot my woman down. I went right home and I went stupid. I stuck that loving 44 beneath my head. Got up next morning and I grabbed.

[Alison Stewart]

Okay, you want to talk about actors who like to act? Joaquin Phoenix, I love him. What stands out to you about that performance?

[Stephen Thompson]

Well, I mean, I think it's fully committed as Joaquin Phoenix so often is. I mean, you really have a list talent all the way down in that film. And you're working from a body of some of the most intense and Indelible and just beautifully constructed songs ever written. And so, you know, I think in many ways this is a. This feels like a very prototypical music biopic. It's definitely more cradle to grave, but it doesn't hit the worst pitfalls of the music biopic. And to me, like my least favorite music biopic pitfall is when you can see the agendas of the people involved in making the film. I'm gonna come back to this Queen movie I hate so much. Keep Going, Keep Going where like Bohemian Rhapsody has the buy in of the surviving members of Queen and they are clearly grinding axes, whether those axes kind of fit into, you know, like the actual historical record or not. And one thing that I like about Walk the Line is that, you know, Johnny Cash was, you know, cooperated with the film, you know, was very willing to have his story told, but was very clear. He said, basically, you can tell my story, but you have to make me the villain. And I think like, when somebody behaves badly, it should be me. And I think that humility elevates that movie. I think the same is true of Springsteen. Like, they don't. The Springsteen movie isn't like creating a villain where none exists. Maybe you get a couple of record industry executives who are voicing a little bit of skepticism, but they're not like, shut it down. You're not creating this false conflict where none existed. And I think that's one thing that I like about Walk the is that where it's showing the warts, where it's showing bad behavior, it's Johnny Cash's bad behavior and not some straw man who gets pummeled because you need to have a counterweight or a villain.

[Alison Stewart]

This text says, control the Ian Curtis of Joy Division biopic. An intense film about a brief span of time that's also a piece of art. Let's talk to Jimmy, who's calling in from Brooklyn. Hey, Jimmy, thank you so much for making Time to Call all of it. What do you like to watch?

[Ed]

I really like Amadeus. Tell us why, because I know it's not entirely accurate. It's a period piece and I just liked the idea of knowing what it could have been to write music at that time and how people conflicted with each other. And it just seems like it's just a really fun movie to watch as well.

[Alison Stewart]

Thanks for calling, Jimmy. Let's talk to Robin from Long Island City. Hi, Robin, thanks for taking the time to talk to us.

[Robin]

Yes, I immediately thought of Gary Bussey in Buddy Holly. He checks all the boxes. Those Four boxes that your guest talked about. Gary Busey is wonderful, and the woman who played his wife is also wonderful. I'm an acting and communication teacher, so I'm into the performances. Also, Dennis Quaid in the Jerry Lee Lewis film. I'm forgetting it's the name of one of the songs. You know Jerry Lee Lewis, right? Yeah. So that one also is brilliant as an acting tour de force, just like Gary Busey's. These actors are wonderful. And did you know Jeremy White said he didn't sing, he didn't play the guitar. He had to learn how to do this. And how brilliant was he?

[Alison Stewart]

That's a really good point. That's interesting. Steve, thank you so much for your call. That's interesting to hear her talk about this because she teaches acting and communication. The idea of playing the part versus doing an imitation.

[Stephen Thompson]

Yeah, I think you really want to embody the person and not just tick off a series of mannerisms or like, wear your hair a certain way. And I think the most successful performances. And I think it's very instructive that, like, an acting and communications teacher would list off movies that are really built around. Around extremely magnetic and dynamic performances. The Gary Busey performance as Buddy Holly. The Jerry Lee Lewis movie is called Great Balls of Fire. I know she couldn't remember which Jerry Lee Lewis song it was named for. And that Dennis Quaid performance is very much like a career highlight for him. Yeah, all of those movies that got rattled off really are constructed around performances where the actor at the center isn't just, like, learning to, you know, like, kind of learning how to check the boxes of playing a certain song. They're really giving you the spirit and the feel for the performer, who they were, why they were magnetic. And that's one of the biggest challenges and one of the reasons that acting in music biopics is so often rewarded. Come awards season, I want to get.

[Alison Stewart]

Into what's Love Got to Do With It? This is a great movie featuring Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne. Laurence Fishburne plays Ike Turner. Angela Bassett plays Tina Turner. You know it. In that film, she has to overcome so much poverty, obscurity. When you think about her role, what did she do that other actors would not be able to do?

[Stephen Thompson]

I mean, Angela Bassett brings so much gravitas to everything that she touches that she's to come in and channel a lot of the gravitas of a performer of Tina Turner's magnitude. Right. Like, Tina Turner, you know, had. Had these. These remarkable highs and. And devastating lows and Angela Bassett comes in as an extremely serious and skilled actor, you know, can kind of come in and channel a lot of that at once, while at the same time, I mean, I think one reason that that is a music biopic that so many people name as one of the great things going for it, inherently, it has magnificent music. You know, she. Tina Turner sang some of the, you know, the greatest songs ever. She was one of the greatest performers ever. It also has an extremely compelling central conflict. There is a larger story there, and so you can tell a larger story about overcoming abuse over overcoming trauma, overcoming poverty, that it's not just that phrase I use when I talk about music biopics a lot. A filmed Wikipedia page, you're able to tap into a lot of human emotion and human conflict that extends beyond music. And I think that's one way that these films can transcend some of the tropes of the biopic.

[Alison Stewart]

Let's hear a clip featuring Angela Bassett as Tina Turner and Laurence Fishburne as Ike.

[Actor Clip Voice]

Look, Ian, what the was that? What the problem is?

[Stephen Thompson]

What?

[Actor Clip Voice]

You done forgot the words? Of course I can remember the words, Ike.

[Stephen Thompson]

I wrote it.

[Actor Clip Voice]

Yeah, you wrote a song, and now you can't even remember the goddamn words. I mean, what you doing? Yeah. All right, now, look, ain't nobody gonna buy this unless you sing this the way I know you can sing it.

[Susan]

And I'm trying to help Ike, all right?

[Actor Clip Voice]

You trying to help Ike? You trying to help Ike? I ain't the need help. You the one that needs some help. What y' all think about this song, huh?

Huh?

No, no, it ain't cool. It ain't cool till I say it's cool. This Ike and Tina, and you gonna sing like I tell you to sing.

[Alison Stewart]

That's from what's Love Got to Do With It. Let's talk to Angelo, who's calling in from Ewing, New Jersey. Hey, Angelo, thanks for calling all of it.

[Ed]

Hello.

[Alison Stewart]

What's your favorite?

[Angelo]

Well, it's not a favorite, but I'm calling about the biopic Ray with Jamie Foxx. I'm at an age where I never heard of Ray Charles until he showed up on We Are the World, USA for Africa. So when this movie came out, I still had no interest in seeing it.

[Ed]

You know, I'm not really into his music.

[Angelo]

And then after it had won all these awards and during a long plane ride, decided to just watch it. And after watching the movie, I was like, wow, that was one heck of a movie. And I learned a lot about Ray Charles. The good and the bad. But I think biopic, music biopics, you know, people just have no interest in seeing it until they see it.

[Alison Stewart]

Thank you so much for calling. We got a whole bunch of people on the, on the board saying, yeah, they thought that Ray was really good.

[Stephen Thompson]

Yeah, I mean, Ray is. Ray is another one that people hold up as kind of a classic example in this genre. Again, because you have an extremely magnetic performance at the center, you know, and an artist where it could be pretty easy to just kind of fixate on the way Ray Charles moved or the way Ray Charles talked or the way Ray Charles sang. But kind of building a complete character beyond that is what makes a movie like that transcend that kind of pursuit of awards that so many music biopics feel like they have at their center.

[Alison Stewart]

Before we finish this conversation, I have to ask you about Walk the Dewey Cox Story. Would you please explain what that is and why it is so appealing?

[Stephen Thompson]

Well, it's not only appealing, but it's a really central film when we're talking about music biopics. Walk the Dewey Cox Story stars John C. Reilly as a kind of Johnny Cash esque figure. And it hits all of these biopic beats, but it is, but it's satire. And, you know, at the same time, John C. Reilly is actually a musician and performs music. He's played a tiny desk concert. He's very talented. And I think a lot of, like, biopic satires work extremely well in part because people know what these tropes are, people know what these cliches are. And if you can work within that and write jokes on top of that, it's a really. It's a really great way to get into, you know, basically some classic comedy. I mean, when I was writing down a list of my favorite music biopics, like four of them were. Were satires. You know, they were, you know, either they were fictional artists or, you know, they were, you know, like, for example, there's a weird Al Yankovic music biopic called Weird the Al Yankovic Story that is not actually, you know, it's. He's not a fictional character, but it's an entire. It's a fictionalization of his story. Walk Hard is another one. A movie called Pop Star Never Stopped. Never Stopping is one of my favorite comedies of the 21st century. It stars Andy Samberg. It's got the Lonely island guys, and they're kind of doing a Justin Bieber style boy band. And that movie is so, so funny. And of course you have this is Spinal Tap, which in some ways is a music biopic, even though obviously Spinal Tap did not exist prior to the making of this movie.

[Alison Stewart]

We've been talking about music biopics with NPR Music and Pop Culture Happy Hour host Stephen Thompson. Subscribe to the Pop Culture Happy Hour. Might I say it's one of my favorites. Stephen, thank you so much for joining us.

[Stephen Thompson]

Thank you, Alison. This was a pleasure.

[Alison Stewart]

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