Documentaries have, on average, a gestation period of about a year. At least on this show. That's from the first time you meet with the producer, talk about "the idea," move it forward to a pitch, give it the greenlight, hear a couple of versions (sometimes it's back to the drawing board!) arrive at a final (final) version, schedule it and then push the baby out into the world.
That's pretty well the way it went with the documentary Miles from our Home: The Story of Cowboy Junkies. Bill Lane, who I knew mostly as a respected radio drama and theatre director, who just finished his PhD, pitched a few ideas last summer. He was particularly passionate about one; a profile on the Canadian alt rock (or is it more alt country?) Cowboy Junkies, sparked both by his love of the band and its ambitious plan to release four recordings in 18 months under the title The Nomad Series.
The doc got the greenlight and Bill was off and running.
As the documentary got closer to completion -- the rough cut came in at 75 minutes which meant another 30 minutes needed to be cut -- Bill started lobbying for more time. He thought it would make a great 90-minute special or even two one-hour shows. He argued that he was starting to cut into the bone. And it hurt.
He enticed me with revealing vignettes that he would now have trash in order to stay to the designated length. He made a pretty good case too, except that Inside the Music is an hour-long program (which really means 54 minutes because of the news). And there are rules about running a two-part series and only paying the producer for one.
So in keeping with the old line "What you don't know you won't miss," I'll keep what you missed to myself. (Although the story of how Jim Powers led the PR push with their cover version of "Sweet Jane," got the Lou Reed endorsement "better than his own version", and how Margo ambushed Lou’s wife in the washroom in a Paris restaurant so that they all finally met... is pretty good.)
Bill Lane crafts a beautiful profile of the band's long career, as told by bandmates (and siblings) Michael and Margo Timmins and few of their friends. Even if you think you know everything there is to know about the Junkies, you'll want to hear this.
http://music.cbc.ca/play/Inside-the-Music/Miles-from-our-Home-Story-of-the-Cowboy-JunkiesListen to Inside the Music on Radio 2 on Sunday 3 p.m. (3:30 NT) and Radio One on Sunday 9 p.m. (9:30 NT)
Related Links:
Cowboy Junkies, Up Close on Drive CBC Music
Cowboy Junkies, Live at Glenn Gould Studio
My Playlist with Margo Timmins of Cowboy Junkies