Loyola’s advance screening of “Man on the Run,” Morgan Neville’s documentary about Paul McCartney, brought the community an opportunity to look at a very specific time period in the star’s life.
The film was McCartney’s manager Scott Rodger’s idea, and this screening allowed viewers to watch a live Q & A between Rodgers and Loyola Professor Jonathan McHugh following the film.
Rodger noted that he hates “talking heads” in documentaries, and therefore the film doesn’t have any sit-down camera interviews. Instead, it is essentially all found footage from McCartney’s life in the 70s.
Rodger noted that when you’re with friends and family, your guard is down, and you’re free to be yourself. Clips of McCartney on 60mm film and Super 8 film, shot by his wife Linda and other close friends, show the musician at his silliest – frequently cracking jokes and looking rumpled. Needle drops of energetic Wings songs match McCartney’s zany energy.
The audience, mostly made of Gen Xers, laughed frequently, sometimes at jokes that I didn’t quite understand.
It was pushing 10 p.m. on a Tuesday night, and the occasional audience member began to slip out. Rodger noted that he’d keep it quick, as it was “getting late for everyone.”
He had a very easygoing and understanding air. As other student journalists and I fumbled in our pre-showing Q&As, he remained calm, collected, and above all, reassuringly Scottish. He asked our majors, what our passions were, and there was no sense of a rush.
When McHugh finished his questions, he opened up the floor to the audience, asking if anyone had any last questions for Rodger. There was one catch though.
“Not like how to get into the music business,” McHugh noted, joking that his students frequently pull this move.
An audience member raised his hand.
“What is the first thing that you would tell a young artist trying to emerge in the industry?”
His question was met with laughter from the audience.
Rodger good-naturedly responded, “You gotta make music for yourself. Don’t try and make it for a trend…people know when it’s not authentic.”
