Yoko Blocks Premiere of Film on Lennon
The world premiere of "Three Days in the Life," a documentary about
John Lennon, was canceled after lawyers for the slain Beatle's
widow, Yoko Ono, warned that she had not authorized any public
viewing of the film.
The documentary was to have been screened Tuesday night at the
Berwick Academy, a private school in southern Maine.
Hap Ridgway, the school's headmaster, said he went from worrying
about an overflow crowd to wondering if the documentary will ever be
shown at all following a flurry of calls and e-mails from Ono's
lawyers Monday evening.
"We certainly hope the two sides will get together," he said
Tuesday. "What we've learned since it all broke loose is that it's a
long-running dispute."
Ray Thomas, the documentary's executive producer, culled raw footage
that was shot inside Lennon's apartment down to a two-hour film
covering a pivotal time in Lennon's career. The footage was shot by
Ono's former husband, Tony Cox, over a three-day period in February
1970, two months before the breakup of the Beatles.
Thomas and his partner, John Fallon, were unable to get an artist
release from Ono, whose lawyers contend has a copyright interest in
the film. That's why they chose to do free screenings at high
schools and colleges, starting with Berwick Academy.
But Ono's lawyers said even that was forbidden, which led Berwick
Academy to scrap the screening.
Cox's unfinished documentary was sold in 2000 for $1 million to
Fallon, Thomas and Providence businessman Bob Grenier.
Among other things, Lennon is seen composing songs, touring his 100-
acre estate and rehearsing for a BBC show in which he
performed "Instant Karma" for the first time publicly.
http://3daysinthelife.com/index.html
