Imagine No Possessions

Princeton’s Royal Stewart Entertainment has produced a documentary on the John Lennon tribute fundraising effort for Darfur.

By: Susan Van Dongen
   There’s a hidden gem of film and video production in Princeton. Royal Stewart Entertainment is housed in a modest suite of rooms in a typical Route 1 office building, but the work the company does is anything but typical.
   Founded in 1995 by James Boyd, RSE has gained worldwide fame for, among other things, its in-depth biographical film series Profile of a Performing Artist (POPA) seen on PBS stations nationwide, as well as in-flight on more than 30 domestic and international airlines. The roster of performers Mr. Boyd and his small staff have interviewed is stunning.
   Ray Charles, Elton John, Elvis Costello, Luciano Pavarotti, Renee Fleming, Al Jarreau, Lenny Kravitz, They Might Be Giants, Shania Twain, Lucinda Williams, Loretta Lynn, Bruce Hornsby, Melissa Manchester and Carly Simon are just a few of the music luminaries RSE has featured in its POPA series.
   The latest triumph for RSE came when Warner Brothers Records and Amnesty International appointed Mr. Boyd as executive producer to create a behind-the-scenes film documenting one of the most comprehensive music fundraising efforts to benefit the people of the Darfur region of Sudan. RSE made a brief promotional film to introduce the John Lennon tribute CD, Instant Karma: the Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur (Warner Brothers), released in June. Now the company is putting the finishing touches on a longer documentary, set to air on PBS, the Independent Film Channel, as well as other cable networks as they receive the program.
   The longer film weaves together snippets of the artists performing Lennon’s music and talking about how the former Beatle influenced them with documentary footage — shot by Amnesty International — that shows the conditions of the refugee camps in Darfur. For the CD — the first in a series — Yoko Ono has granted rights to John Lennon’s entire solo songbook to Amnesty International. The first CD features U2 covering "Instant Karma," Green Day performing "Working Class Hero," REM doing "Number 9 Dream," Christine Aguilera singing "Mother," among others. More than 50 of Lennon’s songs will be covered when the Instant Karma project is complete.
   It’s an honor for Mr. Boyd, but it’s really just another project for the small company with a big heart.
   Walking through RSE’s facilities, he says he got into film and video production after an acting career failed to take off. Choosing to try his skills behind the camera, Mr. Boyd worked on numerous independent films in a variety of capacities. The idea for POPA came to him when he was on a health-related assignment, but one that had brought him together with a talented but lesser known country music performer.
   "I was working for a production company that made shows for PBS," Mr. Boyd says. "We were doing something on women and heart disease and they sent me to Nashville to interview K.T. Oslin. At the time I wasn’t familiar with country music, but it turned out that she was a wonderful woman. She knows Cole Porter and Broadway show tunes, she’s won all kinds of awards. When I got back it dawned on me. There must be so many people like this, that other people haven’t heard of, with interesting stories to tell. That’s where I got the idea for my show. The first one I did was with Bill Whalen, the producer and composer of ‘Riverdance.’ So it was just kind of lucky."
   A baby boomer born and raised in Scotland, Mr. Boyd is of the generation that grew up on rock ‘n’ roll. Thanks to his work on POPA he’s been able to interview some of the folks he worshiped as a youngster, whose music was the soundtrack to his youth — Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney and the Rolling Stones are just a sample.
   "It wasn’t like I had a huge, in-depth knowledge of the music," he says. "We just try to get the best of the best. That was our criteria and to that end we have. The people don’t even have to be popular. For example, quite a few of the singer-songwriters we’ve done may never be famous but they’re all exceptional."
   Only a few people have turned down Mr. Boyd and the "no"s are usually because of scheduling problems.
   "Sometimes they say ‘no’ because they’re so popular at the time," he says. "When Fleetwood Mac (had a comeback) about three years ago, they were in New York and we were going to do a profile. But they had so much press they didn’t need my wee profile. I wasn’t too important in the scheme of things.
   "The record industry is a very small community and word of mouth is what gave me the exposure, the library of the people I’ve been lucky enough to do," he adds. "Artists want to be included in that level of company. We deal with all the major and independent labels and ask for an interview — sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t."
   Most of the subjects have been delightful but a few have been challenging to work with. Some are very articulate, but then there are the performers who are just the opposite, who ramble on or go off on tangents, which makes it difficult to edit their words into interesting sound bytes. Some don’t say much at all. Others are vexing for different reasons.
   "We had an interview scheduled with Lucinda Williams, who is my absolute favorite singer," Mr. Boyd says. "Her schedule must have become really backed up and we waited with the crew for hours. Then we found out that she hates to be photographed, so we thought, ‘Oh, this is going to be fun.’ But when she finally came through, she was great. When it was over we went down to the bar and had sushi together. She must have a reputation (for being difficult), but I didn’t see it."
   Shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, Mr. Boyd interviewed the singer Shelby Lynne, who really was problematical.
   "She just didn’t want to be there," he says. "It was difficult to elicit answers and make a good show. Ironically, that was the worst (interview) I can remember, but that’s the one (for which) I was nominated for an Emmy."
   The affable Mr. Boyd says he was most awed by Beatles producer Sir George Martin.
   "For one thing I’ve never been in the presence of a knight," he says. "I’m proud of all my productions but the one that I’m most proud of was with Sir George Martin."
   Two producers do the research and seek out people from all genres of music, all over the world. Some artists are huge in Europe, Britain and Australia but virtually unknown here. It doesn’t matter, Mr. Boyd says; they all have stories to tell.
   "With all the research we do, we sometimes say we know the performer better than they know themselves," he says.
   Because RSE oversees all aspects of the production, when an individual POPA film is finally completed, it’s a little like the birth of a baby. It starts out with an idea, goes through contact and research phases, then comes the interview and shoot, then the editing and post-production.
   "That’s the nice part about our business," Mr. Boyd says. "We’re small enough so that we all do everything. There’s a sense of fulfillment when a project is done."
The documentary on the making of Instant Karma will air in August on PBS. Check local listings. Royal Stewart Entertainment can be reached at (609) 520-1927; www.rsetv.com