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How a Generation Took Off
The true story behind Woodstock
Demetri Martin [right] leads the cast of Taking Woodstock
Elliot Tiber was in his mid-thirties by 1969. As his memoir would later state, he already had a first hand account of New York’s famous Stonewall riots when, just three months later, he would go upstate to help take care of his parents’ local motel. This is where he would, inadvertently, set the wheels in motion for the event that the 1960s generation would be most remembered for.
Low on cash the Tiber family was having difficulty with the upkeep of their motel and land when Elliot heard of a “hippie” concert that had been canceled in the area. Contacting the festival organizers he helped secure land for cash so the concert could go on. The rest is history.
Taking Woodstock is not the story of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, or the Grateful Dead. This story truly is a comedic look back at the Tiber family, the townspeople’s opposition to the festival, and all the things that went wrong at the concert (electricity in the rain). Die-hard rock fans of the era may enjoy Michael Wadleigh’s famous documentary on the festival more from a musical standpoint. Seeing this legendary event through a fresh and original point of view from the man that really made it happen is a welcome change to the rockumentaries we have all seen already.
Oscar winner Ang Lee directs the script written by longtime collaborator James Schamus (The Ice Storm). Comedian and The Daily Show correspondent Demetri Martin leads the cast, which also includes Emile Hirsch, Live Schreiber, and the always funny Eugene Levy. Levy’s usual brand of comedy best displayed in the Christopher Guest films like Best in Show is on display as usual.
A departure from Lee’s previous work of dramas and tragedies—think Brokeback Mountain or Lust, Caution—the comedy is released about two weeks after the 40th anniversary of the original concert.
Taking Woodstock opens August 28.