Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger creator-writer-producer Steven Knight says the film, which captures the rapprochement between feuding brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher, is about “reconciliation, redemption, and forgiveness.”
The anticipated music documentary, which includes Noel and Liam’s first joint interviews in 20 years, captures the band’s hit reunion tour last year and sees the brothers bury the hatchet after a well-publicized 15-year separation. The film is co-directed by Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace.
The filmmakers and brothers are on the Lido today for the film’s press conference and world premiere screening at the Venice Film Festival. Liam and Noel didn’t attend the press conference but were at the photocall. The film launches in cinemas on September 11 and is on Disney+ later this year.
The filmmakers said they stationed around a dozen hidden cameras during the tour rehearsal process to capture the band and then around 18 cameras during the live performances with some of the world’s top DPs handling the cinematography.
Peaky Blinders creator Knight, who is currently writing the new James Bond movie (which he said is an experience he loves and is going very well), told the audience about the first time Liam Gallagher returned to rehearse with the band again: “The first time that Liam walks into the rehearsal room, the first time that they’re going to perform together for however many years, they haven’t spoken to each other, and they’re British working class men, so they’re not going to high five or hug or cry. Liam walks in and says, ‘What’s that on the drum? Get rid of it’. And then he says, ‘Okay, should we start? Should we go?’ And they go, ‘1234, bang, and they’re in’. So that’s the way it began, and the relationship develops for real as they tour, their kids become friends, it’s family again, and I think that we were very fortunate that that’s what happened because that’s exactly what we hoped would happen, because from the beginning we wanted to make this a film about reconciliation, redemption, and forgiveness.”
Co-director Southern said of their approach: “Our aim was to be completely invisible to the band. I don’t think for six weeks they saw us or a single member of our crew, even though the crew was hiding away somewhere. So we put the cameras into the rehearsal space and left them to film what happened. And the whole idea was that it shouldn’t feel mediated, and it should feel as close to what it would feel like if the cameras weren’t there. And then, as we went on tour, the approach changed slightly, but it became as much about what was happening in the crowd and how that influenced the brothers’ relationship. You know, we didn’t want it to be the film that influenced the relationship. We wanted to document the very genuine thing that was happening. The love and and excitement coming from the crowd was integral in them coming back together. The music brought them back together. They reunited on stage.”
UK band Oasis played 17 gigs last year, beginning with Cardiff in July. Tickets were in such demand that many fans were left paying hundreds of dollars more than anticipated due to “dynamic pricing” on sales websites, a practice that was subsequently investigated by a government watchdog.
