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Per quel che è, a me non dispiace
From Backstreets
SPRINGSTEEN CALLS CADENCE IN FILM OPENING FRIDAY
As I reported last month, one of the genuine surprises of the upcoming film Thank You For Your Service was the inclusion of a new song by Bruce Springsteen over the end credits.
The film stars Miles Teller and is written and directed by Jason Hall, who is probably best known for his Oscar-nominated, adapted screenplay for Clint Eastwood's American Sniper. Based on David Finkel's book by the same name, Thank You For Your Service covers a lot of authentic ground about the plight of the modern-day veteran's return home and the post-war struggles to reestablish a normal life.
Springsteen's contribution to the film is a dirge-like take on the "Freedom" marching cadence, often known as "Some Say Freedom is Free," credited to PFC Roger L. Southard (I'm pretty sure I saw Ron Aniello listed in the credits as producer, likely along with Springsteen).
I recently had a conversation with director Hall, star Teller, and Adam Schumann, subject of Finkel's book and the real-life veteran Teller portrays. I was able to shed a little light on how one gets Springsteen on board and how the track came to be. This is actually how the interview began:
Steve Prokopy: I'll ask you the first question, Jason, because it's the most important question you're going to get today.
Jason Hall: Knock it out.
SP: How the hell do you get Bruce Springsteen to do a new song for your movie?
JH: Adam got him to do it.
SP: Really?
Adam Schumann: Sort of. I think it was more Jon [Kilik, producer, who is best known for doing producing a great number of Spike Lee’s films as well as The Hunger Games movies].
JH: Adam had a cadence that they sang in boot camp, and Jon recorded him singing it on his cell phone. Jon is friends with Bruce and played it for him. Bruce was like, "Oh, that's cool. How'd the movie turn out?" "Movie turned out great." We played him the movie. Bruce loved it, watched it twice, and then said, "Send me that recording, come back in a month, and bring that kid." So Adam went up there with Jon and recorded the song with him.
SP: Are you on the song, Adam? I know there's a male choir on it.
AS: Yeah, I'm in the background there. We all chime in. It's me, Jon Kilik, and Bruce Springsteen.
SP: I'm familiar with versions of that song, and I know different people do it different ways…
JH: Yeah, Bruce rewrote some of the lyrics to the song.
SP: If I heard it right, some of the lyrics are callbacks to "Born in the U.S.A." even. There are new words in there. But that's the nature of that song, right? Don't different people tailor it to their experience?
AS: Yeah, once you hear a cadence in basic training, it just becomes that mantra in your head, so you carry that on wherever you go, and then when you've got guys under you and you're calling cadence, you call the same one. So it's just passed down through generations, but changed from time to time.
Miles Teller: You got the scoop! [everybody laughs]
The film opens this Friday, October 27, with free tickets being made available for veterans and active military. Visit thankyouforyourservicemovie.com for further details.
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Shirley Manson on N. Imbruglia: "In all those videos, it's 'Oh, I look so beautiful and wouldn't you like to fuck me?' God knows she is beautiful, but you know full well that she wouldn't be as great a shag as Courtney [Love]. Hoo hoo hoo!"
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