Little Richard: I Am Everything is a 2023 American documentary film, directed and produced by Lisa Cortés. It follows the life and career of musician Little Richard. Dee Rees serves as an executive producer.
It had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2023, and is scheduled to be released on April 21, 2023, by Magnolia Pictures. Documentary that follows the life and career of musician Little Richard.
Documentarian Lisa Cortes packs a lot into this profile of Richard Wayne Penniman, better known as Little Richard. Director Cortes sticks with a familiar structure for the biopic; however, two things stood out to me about this documentary: it features remarkably little music for a musical doc, and it works well for both those who are very familiar with the legendary performer and those needing an introduction.
Little Richard was a master showman with a daring and hyper-energetic stage presence. None other than The Rolling Stones once opened for him on tour. His tongue-in-cheek catchphrase became “Shut up”, and he was heavily into drugs during the 1970’s. Little Richard was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1986, and he has taken credit for the success of most every rock star over the last 70 years … and the fabulous closing montage makes it difficult to argue. Director Cortes does justice to the complex life of a complicated and talented man, and ‘Good Golly’, that was no easy task.
Trailer
Production
In December 2020, it was announced Lisa Cortés would direct and produce a documentary revolving around Little Richard, with Rolling Stone Films set to produce, and Dee Rees executive producing. In May 2022, it was announced CNN Films and HBO Max would co-produce the film.
The film had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2023. Shortly after, Magnolia Pictures acquired distribution rights to the film. It also screened at South by Southwest on March 13, 2023 and at the Douglass Theater in Macon, Georgia on April 14, 2023. It is scheduled to be released on April 21, 2023.
Cast
John Waters – Self
Billy Porter – Self
Little Richard – Self(archive footage)
Pat Boone – Self
Mick Jagger – Self
Paul McCartney – Self
Tom Jones – Self
Nile Rodgers – Self
Nona Hendryx – Self
Creative
Directed by Lisa Cortes
Music by Tamar-kali
Cinematography by Keith Walker, Graham Willoughby
Film Editing by Jake Hostetter, Nyneve Laura, Minnaer
Makeup by Jessie D’Angelo, Ashley DiSarro, Aria Ferraro, Meeza Generoso, Jeff Jones, Nichole McAuley
Sound by
Andre Artis … sound recordist
Tristan Baylis … Supervising Dialogue Editor
Julie Hu … assistant sound editor
Max Johnson … sound recordist
Robert La Rosa … sound recordist
Andres E. Marthe Gonzalez … Supervising Sound Editor / sound designer
Gene Martin … sound recordist
Tom Paul … re-recording mixer
Alex Quitugua … sound recordist
Craig Rhee … sound recordist
Nicholas Schenck … dialogue editor
Gary Tomaro … sound recordist
Taylor Tosh … sound recordist
Timothy Wright … sound recordist
Gibran Yusuf … sound designer
Critical Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 96% of 48 critics’ reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.8/10. The website’s consensus reads: “Woooo! An engaging tribute to the rock pioneer, Little Richard: I Am Everything should shut up anyone who doubts the title’s veracity.” Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 79 out of 100 based on 5 critics, indicating “generally favourable reviews”.
Where to Watch
‘Little Richard: I Am Everything‘ is currently available to rent, purchase, or stream via subscription on DIRECTV, Microsoft Store, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Vudu, Spectrum On Demand, YouTube, and Apple iTunes. (As of 02/05/2023)
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