Basis for Film
Is this film based on the life of someone specific? I imagine inspiration for it was drawn from certain women, but was it meant to be a reference to a certain celebrity?
shareI think it's loosely based on the life of Carole King.
shareThat's what I was thinking.
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Carole King indeed wrote hits for others for years at the Brill Building, then finally became a big performer with the circa-1970 album "Tapestry." It was a huge hit, and its followup, "Music," was almost as big. So it seems pretty clear to me -- as someone who began following popular music in the late 1960s
-- that the heroine of the film was based pretty closely on King.
One key to understanding the film protagonist's struggle was her boss's remark, early on, "Are you a singer or a songwriter? You can't be both!" It may seem hard to believe today, but that was the general outlook in America for many years. King, Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne and James Taylor, among others, exploded this limitation, again, starting around 1970.
Pretty much every character is LOOSELY based on someone.
John Turrtoro- Phil Spector ( even though Phil Spector was a producer, egocentric prick, and now murder suspect).
Matt Dillon- Brian Wilson
Bridgett Fonda- Lesley Gore
Continuing the above post:
The Click Brothers- The Everly Brothers
The Riptides- The Beach Boys
While there is certainly some aspects of Phil Spector in the Joel character, I see a lot more of Don Kirshner. Don was a producer and promoter, but also managed songwriters such as carole King, Gerry Goffin, Neil Diamond, etc.
sharei think the beatles, stones, dylan and a few others had already "exploded this limitation" some years earlier. maybe in the brill building, you mean.
shareIt's loosely based on Carole King and many of the people she worked with at the Brill Building, and her ex-husband, contributed the songs to the film.
shareI see your Carole King and raise you a Carly Simon. Simon was also one of the singer/songwriters associated with the Brill Building. Like Edna/Denise, she's an heiress, daughter of Richard L. Simon, as in Simon & Schuster publishing. I've always thought the character might be a King/Simon hybrid. Love the film, love the sound track. Watching it always cures what ails me.
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According to wiki, it's pretty much based on Carole King.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_of_My_Heart
Wipe your mouth. There's still a tiny bit of bullsh!t on your lips.