Last week we told you about a new documentary coming out this month called “If These Walls Could Rock.”
I had the chance to view a “sneak peek” preview of this film last weekend and it is an interesting piece of work … kinda like discovering Hollywood’s Best Kept Secret, 60 Years After The Fact!
But for most of those 60 years, The West Hollywood Sunset Marquis Hotel was booked with legendary rock stars who just needed a place where they could be themselves … and we get first hand accounting of much of went on there by some of the key tenants.
Billy Bob Thornton has declared himself the “Mayor of the Marquis” … and spent quite a few years living there (most often between divorces, according to him!) … and everyone from Bruce Springsteen to Cyndi Lauper to Sheryl Crow to Slash to David Grohl to Morrissey to a wide variety of other stars of their day recount the pluses of having a place like The Sunset Marquis to call home … whether it just be for the night or for a long weekend or an extended several-years stay.
Paraphrasing some of the information provided in the official press release along with some of my own observations after watching the film, West Hollywood’s Sunset Marquis Hotel has been the best kept secret in rock ’n’ roll for the past sixty years. Tucked away on a suburban cul de sac just off the Sunset Strip, most locals never even knew that THIS is where the rock legends came to live, love, party, create, and occasionally destroy. (Sounds like Green Day, of all people, did the most legendary damage here … I guess you could say that they were perceived as a triple threat!)
Beyond its storied awning, Bruce Springsteen wrote an anthem (“Born In The USA”), Keith Richards hoisted a pirate flag over his villa (and reportedly repeatedly pulled a knife out of his speedo!), and countless artists formed an unlikely community around the pool. (One commentator states, “You’ve heard of threesomes’??? Well, we had ‘elevensomes’!”)
But besides all the stories of sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll … and general debauchery that went on there every single night … the film also provides the behind-the-scenes story of founder George Rosenthal and his son, Mark. Together, they built, nearly lost and then rebuilt a dynasty and home to the stars. (George Rosenthal got his start by helping Hugh Hefner build his Playboy Club on The Sunset Strip … and then used that knowledge and experience to design an even bigger and more elite version that he could call his own rock and roll haven. He even named it after his son, who everybody called “Markie” … and thus the Sunset Marquis was born.)
The film shows the highs and lows of the venture. After years of excess, the hotel fell into disrepair. George was on the cusp of losing the place when his son Mark returned to salvage it - along with their relationship.
Directed by award-winning filmmaker Tyler Measom ("Murder Among the Mormons," "I Want My MTV," "An Honest Liar") and Craig A. Williams, "If These Walls Could Rock" uses rare archival footage, stunning photography, intimate new interviews, and vivid animation to capture the spirit of rebellion, resilience, and reinvention that defines both the Marquis and the people who have called it home.
The film officially opens next Friday, August 14th, at the Landmark Sunset Theatre in Los Angeles, accompanied by special post-screening Q&A events with the filmmakers and guests from the film, while launching simultaneously on Apple TV and Amazon.
This one’s worth seeing, folks … if only to see how rock’s elite lived! (kk)
