The Beat Goes On
Genre: Drama/Musical
Director: Ryan Coogler
Writer: Chad Taylor
Cast: Will Smith, Robert Downey Jr., Zendaya, Paul Mescal, Rihanna, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Paul Giamatti, Donald Glover, Questlove, William Fichtner
Plot:
American Bandstand | Philadelphia, PA | August 16, 1963
When You’re Young and in Love - Renee Elise Goldsberry & Rihanna (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEZZT5-Ie0M)
The Green Lights, of the most successful groups to come out of the doo-wop genre, are set to headline tonight’s show. The group’s leader, Bill Swift (Will Smith), is undoubtedly the biggest star of the group and set to become a solo star. His voice, at once ethereal and tortured, is considered once in a generation. As Bill goes through his vocal warm-ups, he can’t help but get caught up in the act going on before him: Martha & the Dynamics. His eyes are fixated on Martha Greene (Renee Elise Goldsberry), their lead singer, as they sing their hit “When You’re Young and In Love”. Martha’s sister Sloane (Rihanna) is a back-up singer in the group.
After the Dynamics perform, Bill waits for Martha to say something to him but she passes by, them both seemingly knowing what’s going on. He follows after her and begins flirting with her but she asks if he’s going to miss the Green Lights performance. He says not to worry, they’ll wait for him. He asks how she is liking Philly and says he’s from here so can give her any tips around the city. He begins to ask details about the Dynamics’ current small record deal and she says they are in their current deal is just ending actually. He pitches her to join the label he is on in Detroit, where they can find major success. And she says she can’t make this decision unilaterally. He says that is fine and to talk it over with her bandmates. She then asks if this pitch is more about the Dynamics or… He finishes her sentence and says that she can move to Detroit and he can ask her on a date. They both smile and he nods, saying that was his intent.
A Bandstand P.A. comes looking for Bill and says he’s needed onstage immediately. Bill asks Martha for an answer and she says she’ll think it over and talk with her girls. He tells her to listen for the reaction he is about to get from the audience and says that could be in her near future. After the show, Bill pulls aside his manager Alton Wasserman (Paul Giamatti) and lets him know that he might have just met the next big music star.
Monterey Pop Festival | Monterey, CA | June 17, 1967
I Only Have Eyes for You - Will Smith (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_urvud-Oi0)
In the last five years, he has become more and more involved with his record label and fostering new acts. The most successful of these is undoubtedly Martha & the Dynamics and now Martha Swift on her own. Bill’s courtship was successful and he has now been married to Martha for two years. At the festival, Bill is set to perform given that he is one of music’s biggest stars of the last decade. There is a certain buzz in the air and Bill can feel it. Martha is nervous but Bill doesn’t understand why.
Bill is writing something when he receives a surprise visit from his mentor in the music industry, “Lucky” Len Phillips (Robert Downey Jr.), a popular crooner of the 1940s and 1950s. Bill can smell alcohol on Len’s breath, which is par for the course. Len says that he was initially on the fence about Bill’s invite given that he doesn’t agree with the hippie lifestyle. But he does admit that most of the concertgoers are easy on the eyes. Bill does not respond to this, knowing that Martha is listening - indicating that he is now firmly settled down. Len is disappointed by this as it probably means no more trips to Vegas.
Bill performs a set of his signature songs, including the Green Lights’ biggest hit “I Only Have Eyes for You”. On stage, he experiences something a new sensation. The crowd seems completely bored, with some walking out. There are even a few jeers from the audience. This shakes Bill to his core. He returns backstage despondent. He vents out to Len and Martha, saying that he’s out of step with where music is heading and he’s nothing if he can’t even play the hits. Len is sympathetic given that he’s also seen his genre of music fall out of favor. Martha gives him a long hug and he apologizes, saying that he should have taken her nervousness more seriously. She says she’s sorry about the crowd reaction but that’s not what she was nervous about. She smiles softly and asks if he wants good news. He nods and she tells him that she is pregnant. Bill begins to cry as he hugs Martha.
Soul Train | Hollywood, CA | July 23, 1971
If I’m in Luck I Might Just Get Picked Up - Rihanna (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8b4hPEN05I)
After the Monterey Pop debacle, Bill is now spending his full time as a record producer. He’s produced a string of hit records but his top artist is currently on hiatus as Martha is pregnant with their third child after having two daughters. Bill is in Hollywood to watch his newest signing perform and someone he knows well: Sloane Greene (Rihanna), Martha’s younger sister and former back-up singer. Sloane’s talent is a different monster from Martha’s and Bill’s. It is grittier, funkier and has more sexually aggressive than anything that would’ve come out of Motown. But Bill doesn’t mind. Even if he can’t make music for the new generation then he might as well profit from it in some way. Sloane performs a new track that Bill is fixated on, knowing how good of television it makes.
Afterwards, he congratulates her on the performance and says that advance sales of her record are about to be off the charts. She jokingly asks if it will outsell any of Martha’s records. There is an unspoken tension in the air and he tells her that she looked stunning out there. She thanks him but then reminds him that she has a boyfriend. And he has a wife, of course. He nods, agreeing, but then puts his hands on her hips. She initially pulls away but he goes in for a kiss.
Martha, meanwhile, is at home with their two daughters and tries to call to let them know that they all watched aunt Sloane perform. The phone keeps ringing.
The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson | Burbank, CA| January 2, 1977
Portrait of My Love - Robert Downey Jr. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNqLZ0KlUpQ)
A production assistant is warming up the live studio audience for The Tonight Show. He mentions they have a big night, with a special performance from legendary Len Phillips. But then he also says they have a special guest backstage and motions for Bill to come out. Bill would rather not but the crowd starts chanting his name and he comes out to wave them. The P.A. asks if he wants to perform a little song for the crowd but he declines. The crowd then begins to cheer him on but Bill has not performed in public in 10 years and doesn’t plan to again anytime soon.
He shuffles back to the green room where he’s immediately met with a strong whiff of alcohol. He finds it repugnant but also sad. Len, with a pair of sunglasses on, is seemingly napping in his chair until he hears Bill’s footsteps and asks why he didn’t give the crowd a little something out there. Bill says that Len knows why, and plus he’s not getting paid to be here tonight. He’s here for a friend. He moves Len’s drink away from him. Len says that if he had Bill’s talent then he wouldn’t be bottling it up forever just because a few hippies weren’t hip with it. Bill, now seemingly annoyed, says that if he had Len’s talents that he wouldn’t sacrifice it for a friendship with Jack Daniels. He immediately apologizes for the insult but Len removes his sunglasses and chuckles. Len takes Bill’s hand and says he thinks this will be his last performance. Bill asks if anyone else knows this and Len says Bill’s the first person he’s told. They hold hands in silence before a knock on the door to tell Len it’s showtime.
Host Johnny Carson introduces Len and they begin chatting as Bill watches with mixed emotions backstage. His foot is tapping rapidly. There’s another knock on the green room door, this one more unexpected. It is Martha. He is surprised to see his wife and gives her a hug. She remains stiff and unbothered at his gesture, letting him know something is up. She says that she has always known that Bill is a pleasure-seeker. She knew that day in Philly that she met him. And she knew it was something she would just have to accept for someone that she loves. He listens nervously. She says that Sloane confessed to her about their one-night-stand. His heart sinks. She says that hooking up with her sister is the point of no return. She is divorcing him and taking the kids with her. He pleads with her not to do this but she says that she is ready to make her own decisions. On stage, Len emotionally sings his big hit ‘Portrait of My Love’ while Bill watches Martha leave and the sound of his good friend’s last performance echoes through the halls.
Agora Ballroom | Columbus, OH | November 11, 1980
Ain’t Even Done with the Night - Paul Mescal (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKk8w0GJYdk)
Bill watches his cold breath fog up the phonebooth as he waits for someone to pick up. Alton Wasserman answers and Bill lets Alton know that he has landed in Ohio. Alton thanks Bill for doing him this favor. After the divorce and Len’s death in 1979, Bill’s last fews years have been tumultuous to say the least. His producing work has dried up as music tastes have continued to change and he’s been without his biggest star. Alton, being an old pal, offered Bill a job to scout potential artists to sign to a record contract. After hanging up with Alton, he calls Martha to catch up on the kids. She tells him that Gen, their oldest daughter, is enjoying her first year in high school but has a curious (and yet unsurprising) ambition: she wants to become a musician. Bill and Martha both immediately agree they do not want their daughter to follow down that path.
At the venue, Bill sticks out like a sore thumb as he leans against a back wall to watch Chris Kale (Gavin Leatherwood) perform in front of a crowd of screaming fans. Bill can’t help but smile at the combination of raw machismo and Midwestern roots, even if it’s not necessarily for him.
After the show, he tries to talk with Chris. While he’s initially rejected by security, one of the older roadies recognizes Bill and lets him in. Bill introduces himself and Chris’s eyes light up, saying he is a big fan Bill’s work and Sloane Swift in particular. Bill is surprised to hear this and it is obviously a bit bittersweet. He makes the pitch to Chris about signing with Alton’s label, which could lead him to super-stardom. To Bill’s surprise, Chris turns him down. He says that he likes it here and doesn’t think that Hollywood is a good fit for him. Bill sees Chris’s family on the other side of the room, including his younger sisters, and can feel the pit of his stomach. He thinks about his own daughters and how the music industry both gave him that joy and took it away. Knowing he’s here on behalf of a friend, he continues with his pitch anyways and encourages Chris to give it a shot. If it doesn’t work out, he can always move back here. Chris can hear the sincerity in Bill’s voice and nods, shaking his hand.
Live Aid | Philadelphia, PA | July 13, 1985
Give Me One Reason - Paul Mescal & Zendaya (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz1AXu0gBUQ)
Under the tutelage of Bill Swift, Chris Kale is now one of the biggest rock stars in the world. He is coming off of a record-breaking second album and selling out shows worldwide. Tonight, he shares the bill with one of the most star-studded concert line-ups of all time. With five years now passed, Chris’s personality has matured but also changed a bit from his wholesome Midwestern roots. This is something that Bill is trying to keep in check given that he feels responsible for bringing Chris to this level of fame. He is in attendance as he used his connections to help organize the fundraising effort. Chris seems unusually nervous around his mentor and Bill asks why. Chris asks what Bill would think if he debuted a new song tonight. Bill says that the people love the hits…but…he also knows that the hits don’t always land either. So he encourages Chris to do it. As long as it’s good, that is, he says with a nudge.
Chris traverses the halls of the halls of JFK Stadium to another locker room, where it becomes clear why he was nervous. Practicing guitar on the couch is Gen (Zendaya), the eldest daughter of Bill and Martha. After getting to know Chris through the occasional visits with her dad, she asked him to train her musically—knowing neither of her parents want that life for her. Over the last few months, Chris has been tutoring Gen and they’ve now written a song together. Well she wrote the lyrics, he wrote the music. She is the one now visibly nervous, seemingly set to make her live performance debut in front of 90,000 people (and millions more watching around the world). Chris asks how she thinks the song is. She says she thinks it’s good. He says then the crowd will think it’s good too. She tries kissing him in that moment but he pulls away, saying he can’t. He apologizes and walks out.
They go out on stage and perform a blues-rock duet. Gen is a little shaky at first, from the stage fright and how things went down in the green room. However, she hits a groove and the song goes over great. That is everywhere but backstage, where Bill is watching on furiously. He confronts Chris afterwards and ask what kind of stunt he was trying to pull out there. Chris says that Gen is the one who came to him and he was just doing her a favor. She clearly has talent so he was just helping her like Bill helped him. Bill turns his attention to his daughter and says that he is most upset with her. How could she go behind her parents’ back like that and betray their trust? Gen pushes back, asking what authority he has telling her what to do when he only sees her and her siblings once every few months. He says that if she wants to make her own decisions then she can go out and do it on her own, the hard way. She says that she will and storms out.
Def Jam Records | New York City, NY | February 22, 1988
Can I Kick It? - Donald Glover & Questlove (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-uV8TGjaGU)
While she has not yet signed a major record deal, Gen is one of the budding young stars in the music industry. She is being courted by several major labels, including Def Jam in New York. She is there to meet with her aunt Sloane, who has retired from music and is now an executive at Def Jam. They talk a bit about Martha and laugh about her recent turn as a kitchenware spokesperson. Sloane then asks how Gen’s dad is doing and Gen says she hasn’t talked to him in three years. Sloane gives Gen a look, as if to say that’s probably the right call. When Sloane begins pitching Gen on joining Def Jam, Gen admits that she only took this meeting out of courtesy to her aunt. Gen says that she isn’t sure how to define herself musically but she isn’t sure hip-hop would be the right move for her. Sloane understands the hesitation. She felt similarly when moving out of the tried-and-true girl group bops that started her career. She requests Gen to come walk with her for a tour through the studio.
As they walk through, Gen seems impressed but never more so than we they encounter the rap group House Money, consisting of Omari Moussa (Donald Glover) and Mack da Knife (Questlove). She stops in her tracks, immediately vibing with their beats. Upon spotting Gen out in the hallway, Omari begins shouting her out and courting her through song. She is eventually convinced to join them in the booth, freestyling a verse. Afterwards, Gen admits that was pretty fun and they did have undeniable musical chemistry. Omari flirts a bit and asks if she is signing with Def Jam. She says she isn’t sure yet. She asks Sloane if she can make a phone call.
She calls Chris, her musical mentor, for advice on what to do. He is a little different than the last time we saw him; a little more hard-edged, a little more strung out. He is against the idea of her taking this musical direction as they have no idea if it will be viable going forward. Gen, as always, is stubborn-headed and says that she thinks it has a future. Before they hang up, Chris tells Gen that her dad has been trying to get ahold of her. She they say goodbye and Gen tells Sloane that she’s signing with Def Jam.
MTV Unplugged | Chicago, IL | November 8, 1991
My Song - Will Smith (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBhBG5lqpzM)
Famed music journalist Michael Henderson (William Fichtner) makes small talk with Alton Wasserman as Bill walks in, clearly late. He is thinner than the last time we saw him, his hair now with some gray in it. As their interview starts, Michael asks why Bill has decided to return to performing after so many years. Bill reiterates that this is a one-time thing. And he doesn’t know exactly why but the time and format just felt right. He recalls the night his friend Len Phillips did one final performance. He sits in silence for a few moments, simply smiling. He then says that there actually is a reason he chose now. He leans closer and tells Michael that he’s going to want to write this down.
Martha smokes outside of the venue, on the lookout for someone. A luxury car arrives and Gen steps out. Gen is now full-time collaborating with House Money, finding massive success. They hug and Gen tells her mom that she wouldn’t miss a Martha Swift performance for the world. Martha says she knows Gen is going to be mad at her but Martha is not the one performing tonight. Gen immediately knows what she means and says that she doesn’t want to be here. She says that he cheated on her mom with her aunt, basically lost contact with his children, and then had the gall to tell her how to live her life. Why should she care about him playing a few songs? Martha holds her hand and begs. Gen realizes she can’t say no.
Bill comes out on stage and plays some of his old hits, telling some stories in between. Before his last performance of the night, he recalls his experience at the Monterey Pop Festival. He says that most people know about the near-disastrous performance. But that same day he started writing a song that he could never quite shake. He wrote it for the Civil Rights movement, which he didn’t know how to contribute to. He wrote it for the loves of his life, including those that he didn’t know he had yet. He starts getting choked up and then reveals that recently he tested positive for HIV before playing ‘My Song’ with tears in his eyes.
When he gets backstage, Gen is the first one waiting for him, herself in tears. They share a long hug, eventually being joined by Martha.
Bill Swift Tribute Concert | Detroit, MI | 1993
Zealots - Zendaya, Donald Glover, & Questlove (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0wUF-ngNPo)
Gen is backstage humming to herself. She is joined by Omari and Mack, who are writing some raps. She stops humming when she sees Chris standing in the doorway. He is clearly in rough shape, having not had a hit in years. The two of them hug and she says that it’s nice to see him. He says he is glad that Alton invited him here to perform. She asks how he’s doing and he admits not great. He says that he’s thinking about moving back to Ohio and leaving the spotlight completely. She holds his hand and says that would be good for him. He asks if she ever wants to escape the spotlight herself. After a pause, she admits that this is the only thing she’s ever known. They hug again as he goes out to play a song.
Gen Swift & House Money perform a new song that samples The Green Lights’ hit I Only Have Eyes for You as the credits roll.
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