Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Behind the Scenes with Shep Gordon

     Supermench: The Legend of Shep Gordon, directed by famous funny-man, Mike Myers, is a refreshing take on a Hollywood legend that most people know nothing about.
      Incredibly famous among celebrities and not so much their audiences, the documentary that praises the life of Shep Gordon is one that makes the audience want to know him more, and to meet a legendary man who in most ways is just like like us.
        Outrageous tales of sex, drugs, and rock and roll, fill the documentary about Gordon and his counterparts, and how the celebrities' rise to fame was equally worked for by a trustworthy and sincere Gordon, who throughout the film, is a continuous giver, always putting others before himself.
        Alice Cooper, Michael Douglas, Sylvester Stalone, Teddy Pendergrass, even Myers himself, sing praise of Gordon throughout documentary, giving a genuine sense of a good-guy persona in Gordon, who you continue to root for even though he has clearly already made it in the industry.
           A genuine caring person, scenes in the film are filled with the caring nature of Shep, who seems to know anybody who is anybody in Hollywood.  A brilliant businessman and also caretaker? Completely unheard of.
           Gordon's "other limb", Alice Cooper, is featured throughout the documentary telling legendary tales of their lives and how Shep was there for Cooper for every wild ride in his career that seems would not have been possible without the management of Gordon, who was nearly plucked out of obscurity and brought into the world of entertainment by random friends he made in Janis Joplin and Jimmy Hendrix.

                                Shep Gordon and Alice Cooper, a friendship and self-proclaimed brotherhood.

            One can't really help but wonder how Gordon managed to participate in all of the drugs and wild life styles of the rich and famous and still survive without going through trials of addiction and despair. But that can probably be explained in Gordon's wisdom in staying behind the scenes of his work. Even today, after the film's release, his Wikipedia page is left rather bare, filled with nothing but brief information about the film. Gordon has managed to be incredibly successful because he is okay with this. He doesn't strike anyone as the type to need the attention that the stars he represents and supports need.  And in that, lies the true secret to Hollywood happiness. Do not get wildly famous. (Obviously an impossible feet for a star)
      The rare find you discover in Meyer's documentary, is a tale of someone who is wildly successful, but also genuinely happy. Those characteristics are not something you usually find in Hollywood. Hollywood has historically been the launch zone for success, but only after having to possess the personality of a shark, intimidating or sneaking your way to the top. Shep Gordon proves otherwise in the tale told by Meyers of his life.
         In the interview below, speaking about how he is more "effective not being known", Shep explains how fame is a dangerous thing, and how he finally brought himself to allow Meyers to do the film after a near-death experience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGC5QL3hVbs

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