Sunday, November 29, 2020

LRF NOW Writer Commentary: The Temptations with Lon Charles

The Temptations - Writer Commentary
Genre: Biography/Musical
Director: Clint Eastwood
Writer: Lon Charles
Cast: Lakeith Stanfield, Nate Parker, Andre Holland, Jason Mitchell, Corey Hawkins, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jeffrey Wright, Tyler James Williams, Columbus Short, Alexandra Shipp, Jesse Williams, Jurnee Smollett, Kimberly Elise

Plot: 1958 - Detroit, Michigan. Otis Williams (Lakeith Stanfield) attends a concert with his friend Elbridge "Al" Bryant (Tyler James Williams). [1] While The Cadillacs performs "Buzz-Buzz-Buzz", Otis and the lead singer lock eyes. Otis is suddenly inspired. After the concert he tells Al that he now knows what he wants to do with his life: he wants to start his own band. Al is reluctant, but agrees to help Otis. They go to the local barber shop to get their hair done up in the ducktail style like Tony Curtis.

[1] I knew for a while that the Temptations were a group that would be pretty perfect for a jukebox style musical, but one thing that was pretty difficult to determine was the exact time line of the film. The group was formed in 1960 and continues to tour to this day with founder Otis Williams still part of the group, giving me quite a long stretch of time to choose from for the story. Ultimately, I decided to cover a combination of their greatest hits - both the songs and the events in the lives of the group.

When Otis gets home, his family is shocked and angered by Otis' new hairstyle. When asked why he would do such a thing to his hair, Otis tells them that it is for his music career. His mother and step-father scoff at the idea and tells Otis that it is about time for him to come work on the assembly line and act like a grown man instead of chasing a boy's dream of a music career. Otis rejects their suggestion and storms off to his bedroom.

Otis and Al are singing on a street corner singing "Splish Splash". [2] Suddenly another group of singers across the street starts singing the same song. Otis and Al stop their singing and listen, impressed by the group's bass singer, Melvin Franklin (Nate Parker). When the group stops singing, Otis and Al start to follow Melvin home, hoping to ask him to join their group. Melvin spots them and starts running away, thinking they are gang members. Otis and Al eventually catch up to him and introduce themselves. Melvin is relieved that they aren't gang members, but ask what they want. Otis asks Melvin if he'd like to join his singing group, Otis Williams & the Siberians. Melvin agrees to join.

[2] Director Clint Eastwood and I were trying to take a bit of fourth-wall breaking musical approach like Eastwood previously did with Jersey Boys, which was an admitted influence on the development of this project. Getting Eastwood himself on board to direct only solidified this approach for me with the writing.

Otis, Al and Melvin are singing "Earth Angel" when they notice a trio of girls watching them. [3] It isn't long before the guys are making out with the girls in the back of Al's milk truck. Otis asks one of the girls, Josephine (Jurnee Smollett) out on a date. Otis, Al and Melvin go to a local record company they found listed in the Yellow Pages, but when they get there they find it is just an apartment building. Al and Melvin are discouraged, but Otis rings the doorbell anyway. Johnnie May Matthews (Kimberly Elise) answers the door. Otis tells her that they are a singing group, and Johnnie May invites them in. She agrees to be their new manager and producer, but changes the name of the group to Otis Williams and the Distants.

[3] "Earth Angel" isn't a famed Temptations song, but I love the song. The song is most famously sung by The Penguins, but when I found out that the Temptations had covered the song I knew I had to include it in the film even if it was at the expense of one of their more famous works.

1960. Otis and Melvin and two backup singers Johnnie May hired to perform with them are waiting to perform at a party. Al is hasn't arrived at the event yet. At the party, they meet Paul Williams (Jason Mitchell) and Eddie Kendricks (Andre Holland), singers for a group called The Primes. [4] Otis and Melvin continue to schmooze the guests while waiting for Al to show up, meeting Smokey Robinson (Jesse Williams). [5] Al finally shows up, but doesn't immediately look for Otis and Melvin. Instead, Al's attention is captured by the beauty of Diana Ross (Alexandra Shipp), singer for the Primettes. Paul and Eddie tell Al that his bandmates have been looking for him. Al snaps at them that he's talking to a girl right now, but by the time he turns back around Diana has moved along. The Primes and the Primettes perform, and Otis, Melvin and Al are all impressed by their sound. The Distants finally have their turn to sing and give the party a rendition of "Come On". After their performance, Otis notices Berry Gordy (Jeffrey Wright), the owner of Motown Records, enter the bathroom. Otis and Melvin follow him into the bathroom to meet him. While Berry is trying to use the toilet, Otis and Melvin introduce themselves. Berry promises to give them his business card so they can contact him if they let him use the toilet in piece. Otis and Melvin agree. After the party, the group gets a ride with Johnnie and she tells them that the single they recorded is starting to sell and shows them a roll of cash. The group asks when they will start getting paid, which infuriates Johnnie. She kicks them out of the car and tells them they'll need to get another manager. Otis, Al and Melvin start walking down the highway back toward downtown Detroit. Al tells them that he doesn't think he can do this anymore. He already has a job as a milk man, so he's going to just focus on that and starting a family instead.

[4] Casting the rest of the group that would eventually become The Temptations was honestly a tough task. Really the entire casting process of this film was tricky. There are only so many actors in the necessary age range that had the right look and feel that was needed for the era. I think we did about as well as we could casting this one, but it was certainly not easy.

[5] While not a member of the group proper, Smokey Robinson's song writing was crucial to the group's success, so I felt it was very important to make sure he was a decent-sized part of the story of the film.


Melvin excitedly tells Otis that he just heard that Eddie and Paul left the Primes and are interested in joining forces with them. Otis is reluctant, but decides to give it a try when Al shows up and apologizes for ditching them. The group renames themselves once again, this time calling themselves the Elgins. Paul teaches Otis, Melvin and Al how to dance, telling them that it is important in the business.

1961. Otis enters the headquarters of Motown Records and waits to meet Berry Gordy. Berry tells Otis that he likes the sound of the group, but he hates the name "The Elgins". He tells Otis that he would be willing to sign them to his label if they can come up with a better name. Otis tells Berry that he will meet with the rest of the group and come up with a better name by the end of the day. Berry tells him to be back at 4pm. Otis meets the rest of the group outside of the building, and they sit on a curb trying to come up with a new name. At 4pm, the entire group enters Berry's office and tells them the new name: The Temptations. [6] For the first time as the Temptations, the group sings "Oh Mother of Mine" for Berry in a studio. Otis excitedly tells his girlfriend Josephine the good news. She, however, informs him that she is pregnant. Otis is shocked, but he promises to take responsibility for the baby.

[6] Given all the names the group had and flirted with before they became well-known, I wanted the selection of the name that would live on for going on 60 years now to be a big moment, a crowd-pleasing moment. I'm pleased with how the moment turned out in the final product.

1963. The group records several songs in the studio written by Berry himself, but have failed to make a hit for Motown Records. Leading up to a New Years Eve party the group is playing, they express their doubts about their future with the label. At the end of their performance, the crowd starts chanting for an encore. The group gets ready to head back out on stage, except for Al, who starts throwing beer bottles at the others. He says he's done with the group. The group tells him to get lost and take the stage without him. They begin performing "Shout". During the song, David Ruffin (Corey Hawkins) [7] storms the stage and begins singing and dancing along with the Temptations. At the end of the song, the group invites David to go out to eat with them. At a diner, the group asks David if he would like to join the group since they need a replacement for Al.

[7] Ruffin wasn't with the Temptations for very long, but he is still one of the most recognizable voices in the group's history - namely due to his lead vocals in "My Girl". He had an amazing voice and it certainly was not a coincidence that the group really took off once he joined, although as we go through in the film, he felt the same way which led to a lot of friction between the various strong personalities of the group.


1964. The group heads back to the studio to record a new song Smokey Robinson wrote specifically for them. The group records "The Way You Do the Things You Do", which becomes an instant hit, putting the group on the map. With a hit song, Berry Gordy sends the group to join a tour of various other Motown artists like the Vandellas and Marvin Gaye. When the tour ends they arrive back in Detroit, Josephine sees Otis talking to one of the Vandellas and assumes he is cheating on her. The group heads back to the studio to record another song Smokey has written for them: "My Girl".

1966. David Ruffin begins to believe he is the reason for the Temptations' recent success. After the group records "Ain't Too Proud to Beg", Otis and Melvin pay him a visit, telling him that they are concerned by his recent egocentric behavior. They tell him to shape up or else they will fire him from the group. Back at the studio, Berry Gordy introduces the group to their new manager, Shelly Berger (Michael Stuhlbarg). Shelly tells the group about his ideas of how to expand the group's fanbase to the mainstream white audience. Otis and Melvin say they are reluctant because they don't want to alienate their long-term fans. Shelly arranges for the Temptations to join Diana Ross' group the Supremes for a month long tour. [8] The final show of the tour is them playing the famed Copacabana nightclub in New York City. David shows up late for the concert and announces that he thinks the band should be called David Ruffin and the Temptations or else he will not perform in the show. Otis tells him that there's no way they would ever do that. David leaves the club and the group performs the show without him. After the show, the group holds a meeting to have a vote on whether they should keep David in the group. Otis, Melvin and Paul vote to kick him out of the group. Only Eddie votes to keep him. Otis asks Shelly to break the news to David. Shelly heads over to the hotel and hands him a note telling him he's out of the group and walks away. David then begins trashing the hotel room.

[8] One fun part of the development of the film was the process of deciding which other Motown legends we would see on-screen, which would be actual characters in the film, and which would just be referenced. Obviously some of the younger audiences may not be familiar with all of these names, but hopeful fans of Motown music appreciate the nods.

1968. After a string of replacement singers, the Temptations hire Dennis Edwards (Columbus Short) to officially replace David. [9] During a concert, the group is about to sing "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" when a drunk and high David Ruffin storms the stage from the audience and begins singing the song himself. The others uncomfortably go along with the song, but when everyone goes backstage, Otis gets security to escort David off the premises.

[9] The Temptations had a pretty large revolving door of members of the years, as can be expected of a music group that is around for 60 years with just the one original member, Otis Williams, still left with the group. One challenge was to figure out how much of some of the other more short-lived members to include. I think we did a good job of giving a good balance, but I won't blame the audience if they mix up some characters like Dennis or Eddie that don't have the flashier parts in the film's story.

1969. Melvin is in a doctor's office being given the news that he has rheumatoid arthritis in his legs and he needs to stay off his feet more. Melvin tells the doctor that he needs to be able to stand with ease in order to perform. The doctor tells Melvin that he could get cortisone shots to ease his symptoms, but they won't cure his ailment. Meanwhile, Paul begins drinking heavily to the point that he spends most his days in a perpetual drunken stupor. Otis arrives home from the studio to find Josephine waiting with divorce papers. Otis, Melvin, Dennis and Eddie have a meeting about Paul to figure out how to approach his increasingly debilitating drinking problem. Melvin proposes they have Paul take a leave of absence from the group to get his act together. Eddie is against this, saying they should stick by Paul and be with him at all times to make sure he doesn't drink. [10]

[10] This sequence is the beginning of the traditional "fall" section of a music biopic, but there was really no way around it in a film about The Temptations. Things got pretty dark for a handful of years there between the clashing egos, drug and alcohol abuse, etc. We tried to make the film not feel too stereotypical in this section by focusing on how the issues and problems affected by the group itself, and not just focus on the personal lives of the characters in the section. The film is called 'The Temptations' after all.

Eddie visits David and they do cocaine together. David trashes Otis and Melvin, calling them no-talent hacks who have made a fortune off the abilities of better singers like Eddie and himself. With Paul feeling better after laying off the booze, the group heads to the studio to record "Just My Imagination". [11] After the recording session, Otis and Eddie get into an argument where Eddie compares Otis to a slave owner. Otis tries to attack Eddie, but Dennis and Melvin separate them. Eddie storms out of the studio, saying he's done being just another one of the Temptations.

[11] Even as the group was beginning to disintegrate, they were recording some of their most famous works, which seems to be a rare case. Usually, especially in films about musicians, the personal problems usually come hand in hand with professional problems, but in the case of the Temptations, they were continuing to record great songs, although some of these great songs did not sell as well as the record company would have liked - especially after 1972 when Paul died.

1972. As the group prepares to record "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" in the Motown Studios, Paul shows up clearly drunk. He tries to prove he's fine by doing a dance, but he stumbles and falls to the floor. The rest of the group asks Paul to leave and not come back until he is better. A week later, the group is informed by Shelly that Paul was found dead in his car - he killed himself. At the funeral, the group sees Eddie, who comes over and greets them. Eddie gives them a hug and says that while they may not be bandmates anymore, he still considers all of the Temptations his family.

1977. The Temptations have relocated to Los Angeles, but they haven't had any major hits since 1972. The group begins planning out a new tour since they are low on income. One day, a thief tries to steal Melvin's car at gunpoint. Melvin tries to fight him off, but the thief shoots Melvin in the legs and drives away with his car. Melvin tells Otis he should go on tour without him since he knows that the group needs the money. [12]

[12] This scene almost ended up on the cutting room floor because I felt like it might come across as a bit overly down or too much of a bummer scene, especially immediately after the death of Paul. It ultimately stayed in the film though because it alludes to cash flow problems for the group, as well as Otis himself, and Otis never had as low of lows as some of our other Temptations like David, Paul or Melvin, so it was important to give the era a context and to give the ending a greater impact.

1980. Melvin is still trying to rehab his legs and has been unable to perform with the band since his shooting. Eddie is performing at a small nightclub in Detroit one night when he spots David in the audience. Once he finishes the song, he brings David up on stage with him and they sing "Cloud Nine" together. After everyone leaves the club, Eddie and David have a drink at the bar and agree to start their own faction of the Temptations. David says he's already talked to Dennis and he'd be on board to join them. Meanwhile, Otis and Melvin move back to Detroit to record at Motown Studios again. Berry and Shelly start planning a reunion tour for the group, but Otis and Melvin have to get the others on board if they're going to make any kind of serious money. Otis goes to visit Eddie and finds him rehearsing with David and Dennis. He tells them that Motown wants to put on a tour for the group, but he needs them to sign on. They ask him why they should do something like that, and Otis reminds Eddie what he said at Paul's funeral about the Temptations being a family, despite their differences. While the group is on tour, Otis and Melvin notice that David is still using drugs and discuss whether to bring the issue to Shelly or the record label, but they decide to turn a blind eye since they need the tour to be a hit.

1989. Otis, Melvin, David, Eddie and Dennis are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They perform "Treat Her Like a Lady" together at the ceremony. As the performance goes on, the band is replaced by the classic Temptations line-up of Otis, Melvin, David, Eddie and Paul. Together the classic Temptations sing "The Way You Do the Things You Do". [13]

[13] To end the film, it was important for me to give fans of the group one last chance to see the group's "classic five" perform one last number together even if it is a fantastical moment in a mostly non-fantastical film. Hopefully that move doesn't anger any hardcore Dennis Edwards fans, but I think everyone will admit that the group was most successful with those classic five members in the group. Anyways, that was The Temptations. I had a lot of fun writing the film, especially since it gave me an excuse to revisit some great tunes and some important moments in American music history.


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