I Am An Intergalactic Leonard Cohen Fanatic, The Real Thing - Tony Palmer Podcast, Bird On A Wire Film

Tony Palmer introducing premiere of "Bird On A Wire" - Leonard Cohen 2010 Event, Krakow Poland

December 2, 2011

In a recent 30 minute podcast recorded in Sligo about the making of "Bird On A Wire", Tony Palmer described some aspects about the original film which were most interesting.

• the deal making environment in Leonard Cohen's manager's office
• two examples of why Leonard Cohen felt he looked confrontational
• a funny story that took place in East Berlin with a Stasi officer who didn't understand English

But the highlight for me from this interview was Tony Palmer's description of Leonard Cohen fans who are members of the Leonard Cohen Forum, which proudly includes me.

Hence the title of this post.

Host

What is his reaction to the film?  Has he warmed up to it?

Tony Palmer

He's been very supportive...

He gave permission for the first screening to be held at the biennial intergalactic Leonard Cohen fanatics get together...official Leonard Cohen fan club which has his blessing and support...they meet once every two years...and it so happens the year before this, they met in Krakow, in southern Poland...

I think the suggestion actually came from him that we should show the film there because there will be five or six hundred people...who will come literally from all over the world...and if they like it, then it was okay because they knew their Leonard Cohen.  This wasn't a general audience.  This wasn't someone who just heard him sing Hallelujah...this was the real thing.

I'm told that to a man or a woman they reported back that this was an amazing document.

So, after that he wrote me a very nice note which just said, "I'm very glad that the problem has been solved".

Yet again, it's not either like it or dislike it.

MusicFilmWeb, The Music Documentary Hub (here)
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Podcast #29a: Tony Palmer Part 1 – Travels With Leonard Cohen



Leonard Cohen, Bird On A Wire trailer
Uploaded by cosmicnrg on Jan 2, 2011

Clips from the Tony Palmer's Classic Film "Leonard Cohen, Bird On A Wire" from The Machat Company. The DVD package includes poster, postcard, booklet, and the movie features live performances of 15 Leonard Cohen songs, 4 poems from his "The Energy of Slaves" and rare intimate and backstage footage from the 1972, 20 City European tour, beginning in Dublin March 18th and ending in Jerusalem April 21st.

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The actual number of registrations at the 2010 Leonard Cohen Krakow Event was less than 300.