Springsteen teamed up with his longtime collaborator and fellow New Jersey native, filmmaker Thom Zimny, on the movie, in which the icon performs all 13 songs from his latest album alongside his wife Patti Scialfa and a 30-piece backing orchestra. The concert takes place inside the house that Bruce built — not Met Life Stadium where he’s performed dozens of four-hour rock shows, but quite literally his home, the renovated barn on his family’s property in Colts Neck, New Jersey, which has been converted into a haven for hosting loved ones.
“We knew weren’t going to tour with the band so I was looking for a way to help my audience access my new music,” Springsteen shared at the New York City screening ofWestern Stars. “So we decided we’d film the concert and after that we added things to it and it turned into a piece of cinema.”
The film is yet another platform Springsteen utilizes to reach his audience. After the release of hisNew York Timesbestselling memoir inBorn to Runin 2016, Springsteen turned to Broadway to tell his story live six nights a week, earning himself a Tony nomination and some serious industry cred (not that he was lacking).
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He says that tackling the big screen felt like the next logical step in his progression as an artist.
“You’re always looking for a fresh way to continue the conversation with your audience and the past five years have been some of the most creative years of my life,” Springsteen told PEOPLE. “I’ve had the book, I had the play, now we have the film and the album. It’s really been a good creative period. And to turn 70 and to feel like you’re at the top of the game is really satisfying.”
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“I was surprised to see our honeymoon tapes in there,” Scialfa said at the N.Y.C. screening. “That was very sweet because I hadn’t seen it in 20-something years. All the little pictures of us out in the national parks.”
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Zimny, Springsteen’s co-director and producer on the film, revealed that the honeymoon inclusion was the ultimate highlight.
“My favorite part of the movie is something Bruce and Patti shot — it’s their honeymoon footage,” he shared at the event. “As a filmmaker, you look for these magical moments. It’s ironic that after all the cameras and all the beauty of shooting the film, the magic came from a home movie.”
As for what the collaborators hope to achieve with the movie, their aims are humble.
source: people.com
