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20 Feet from Stardom
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Morgan Neville
Produced by	Gil Friesen Caitrin Rogers Michael Ross Steve Jacobs
Starring	Darlene Love Merry Clayton Lisa Fischer Judith Hill Jo Lawry Claudia Lennear Tata Vega
Cinematography	Nicola Marsh Graham Willoughby
Edited by	Kevin Klauber Jason Zeldes
Music by	Various Artists
Production companies	Tremolo Productions Gil Friesen Productions
Distributed by	RADiUS-TWC
Release dates	January 17, 2013 (2013-01-17) (Sundance) June 14, 2013 (2013-06-14) (United States)
Running time	90 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$1 million
Box office	$5.8 million

20 Feet from Stardom is a 2013 American documentary film directed by Morgan Neville and produced by Gil Friesen, a music industry executive whose curiosity to know more about the lives of background singers inspired the making of the film. Using archival footage and new interviews, it details the behind-the-scenes experiences of such backup singers as Darlene Love, Merry Clayton, Lisa Fischer, Judith Hill, Jo Lawry, Claudia Lennear, and Tata Vega. The film won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 86th Academy Awards, 23 years after In the Shadow of the Stars (1991), a similar documentary that focused on the members of an opera chorus, won the same award.

Lisa Fischer has said of backup singing: "I reject the notion that the job you excel at is somehow not enough to aspire to, that there has to be something more. I love supporting other artists." She added: "Some people will do anything to be famous. I just wanted to sing."

In 2023, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." It is the eighth film designated in its first year of eligibility, as well as the second most recently released film in the Registry.

Cast

• Lou Adler
• Stevvi Alexander
• Patti Austin
• Chris Botti
• Merry Clayton
• Sheryl Crow
• Lisa Fischer
• Susaye Greene
• Judith Hill
• Mick Jagger
• Mable John
• Gloria Jones
• David Lasley
• Jo Lawry
• Claudia Lennear
• Darlene Love
• Lynn Mabry
• Bette Midler
• Cindy Mizelle
• Janice Pendarvis
• Nicki Richards
• Bruce Springsteen
• Sting
• Rose Stone (née Stewart)
• Tata Vega
• Martha Wash
• The Waters (Oren, Julia, and Maxine Waters)
• Stevie Wonder

Archival footage

• David Bowie
• Ray Charles
• Ava Cherry
• Michael Jackson
• Elton John
• Tom Jones
• David Letterman
• Kylie Minogue
• Ike & Tina Turner
• Luther Vandross

Release

On January 17, 2013, 20 Feet from Stardom premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. It was acquired by Radius-The Weinstein Company at the festival and was released nationwide in the United States on June 14, 2013. The film was acquired for international distribution by Elle Driver / Wild Bunch. Some of the many other film festivals that screened the film in 2013 include South by Southwest Film Festival, True/False Film Festival, Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, Hawaii International Film Festival, Philadelphia Music Film Festival, RiverRun Film Festival, San Francisco Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival, and Montclair Film Festival.

Reception

Box office

The film was a box office success, grossing $4,946,445 at the domestic box office, and $898,560 internationally, for a worldwide total of $5,845,005.

Critical reception

20 Feet from Stardom received critical acclaim. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 99% approval rating based on 129 reviews, with an average score of 8.0/10; the site's "critics consensus" reads: "Rich, insightful, and occasionally heartbreaking, 20 Feet From Stardom is an energetic tribute to the passion, talent, and hard work of backup singers." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 83 out of 100, based on 25 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".

The Ithaca Times compared the film to the 2012 book The Wrecking Crew: The Inside Story of Rock and Roll's Best-Kept Secret, which focuses on uncredited studio musicians from the same era as the one that features most prominently in the film.

Accolades

At the 86th Academy Awards ceremony, held on March 2, 2014, the film won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. It also won the award for Best Documentary Film at the 19th Critics' Choice Awards. At the 57th Grammy Awards, the film won the award for Best Music Film.

See also

• 20 Feet from Stardom (soundtrack)

References

1. "20 FEET FROM STARDOM (12A)". Altitude Film Distribution. British Board of Film Classification. January 28, 2014. Archived from the original on February 27, 2018. Retrieved January 28, 2014.
2. ^ "20 Feet from Stardom". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on January 31, 2014. Retrieved January 28, 2014.
3. Caplan, B. (March 13, 2013). "Twenty Feet From Stardom Director Morgan Neville on His Own 'Cinderella Moment'". Miami New Times. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
4. Van Syckle, Katie (January 28, 2013). "Backup Singer Documentary 'Twenty Feet From Stardom' Set for Summer Release". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 5, 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
5. Barnes, Brooks (June 7, 2013). "The Voice Behind Mick (and Others)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 27, 2022. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
6. Tartaglione, Nancy (December 13, 2023). "National Film Registry: 'Apollo 13', 'Home Alone', 'Terminator 2', '12 Years A Slave' Among 25 Titles Added This Year". Deadline. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
7. Lee, Stephan. "MOVIE PREVIEW Twenty Feet from Stardom (2013)". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on May 7, 2013. Retrieved April 28, 2013.
8. Fleming, Mike Jr. (January 21, 2013). "Elle Driver Buys Foreign On 'Twenty Feet From Stardom'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 21, 2013. Retrieved June 20, 2013.
9. "20 Feet from Stardom". Metacritic. June 14, 2013. Archived from the original on September 7, 2013. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
10. Lowe, Justin (January 18, 2013). "Twenty Feet From Stardom". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 30, 2019. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
11. 20 Feet from Stardom at IMDb
12. Debruge, Peter (January 18, 2013). "Twenty Feet from Stardom". Variety. Archived from the original on July 20, 2013. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
13. "20 Feet From Stardom (2013)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on April 14, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
14. "20 Feet from Stardom Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on September 7, 2013. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
15. VanCampen, Bryan (January 30, 2014). "Review: 20 Feet From Stardom". Ithaca Times. Archived from the original on September 15, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
16. "Oscars 2014: live". The Daily Telegraph. March 2, 2014. Archived from the original on March 3, 2014. Retrieved March 3, 2014.
17. ^ "Gravity tops Critics' Choice Movie Awards with seven wins". The Guardian. March 17, 2013. Archived from the original on March 3, 2014. Retrieved March 3, 2014.
18. "Oscars 2014 Winners: The Complete List". The Hollywood Reporter. March 2, 2014. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
19. "AARP Names '12 Years a Slave' Best Movie for Grownups". AFI. January 6, 2014. Archived from the original on January 8, 2014. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
20. "'12 Years A Slave' Wins Five Chicago Film Critics Association Awards Including Best Picture". IndieWire. Archived from the original on December 22, 2013. Retrieved March 3, 2014.
21. Jones, Arnold Wayne (December 16, 2013). "DFW Film Critics reward 'Buyers Club,' '12 Years,' 'Blue Is the Warmest Color'". Dallas Voice. Dallas, TX. Archived from the original on December 17, 2013. Retrieved March 3, 2014.
22. Tapley, Kristopher (December 15, 2013). "2013 Houston Film Critics Society winners" Archived April 10, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. HitFix.com. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
23. "Film Independent Spirit Awards 2014 winners list: Jared Leto, 'Fruitvale Station' and more". Archived from the original on March 2, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
24. "'New York Film Critics Circle 2013 Winners". indieWire. December 3, 2013. Archived from the original on December 4, 2013. Retrieved March 3, 2014.
25. "The 2013 WAFCA Awards". wafca.com. Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association. December 7, 2013. Archived from the original on October 17, 2018. Retrieved March 3, 2014.

External links

• Official website
• 20 Feet from Stardom at IMDb
• 20 Feet from Stardom at Box Office Mojo
• 20 Feet from Stardom at Rotten Tomatoes
• 20 Feet from Stardom at Metacritic

• 2013 films
• 2013 documentary films
• American documentary films
• American independent films
• Best Documentary Feature Academy Award winners
• Documentary films about singers
• Grammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video
• Films directed by Morgan Neville
• 2013 independent films
• Documentary films about the music industry
• 2010s English-language films
• 2010s American films
• Grammy Award for Best Music Film winners
• English-language documentary films
• English-language independent films
• United States National Film Registry films