Michael Gudinski’s vision inspires new Mushroom company
Aussie music industry titan Michael Gudinski’s love of storytelling has inspired the launch of a new company to honour his vision.
Confidential
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Mushroom bosses will launch a new company that plans to make films with music legends Jimmy Barnes, Archie Roach and Mark Seymour.
Long Play Music Films, a film distribution and production division focused on music documentaries and prestige concert films, will be announced by Mushroom Group in Melbourne on Wednesday.
Mushroom Group founder Michael Gudinski died in March.
Warren Costello, a long-time Mushroom executive and director of the new film company, said: “(Michael) was very focused on TV and film, and doing things outside of making music and putting on concerts.
“He never had the patience for film. With Chopper or Gettin’ Square, some of the movies Mushroom Pictures produced over the years, he would drift in and out of the conversation because some of them would take four or five years to come to fruition. But at the end of the day, Michael loved that all of those stories could be told.”
Mr Costello said the company is already looking to do film projects with local music legends Jimmy Barnes, Archie Roach and Mark Seymour. There is also scope for film features with other Mushroom acts, including Paul Kelly, Ross Wilson and James Reyne.
“There’s a wide open door there, absolutely. We’ve had talks with all of them,” Mr Costello said.
“But we’re not making biopics. Nobody here wants to recreate the Queen or Elton John story. Hollywood and the big studios will do that.
“There’s a lot of our own great stories right here on our doorstep. Michael’s vision was to find great stories and tell them.”
Mr Costello said the popularity of recent docos and song studies on Tina Turner, Bruce Springsteen, the Bee Gees, and Paul McCartney proved there was an appetite for music stories.
Long Play’s first venture into the cinema space is a doco about Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott. Phil Lynott: Songs For While I’m Away will open nationally from September 29.
Mr Costello said Gudinski tried to get former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne’s concert film, American Utopia, shown in cinemas. But the movie was distributed by a streaming service.
“It was a shame, because on the big screen and with big Dolby sound, it would have been bloody awesome.”
Meanwhile, Mushroom will mark its 50th anniversary in 2022.
“Hopefully, the celebrations will be big and bold, like Michael,” Mr Costello said.
“There’s not a day goes by where I don’t think of him. We miss him greatly every single day. But you do draw inspiration from him, and his amazing personality.
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