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CELEBRATING AN ICON: ALISON ELLWOOD’S INSPIRING DOCUMENTARY EXPLORES THE LIFE OF CYNDI LAUPER

by chris carpenter

She’s so unusual. She’s also a star, as her 40+ year career attests. Cyndi Lauper has not only proven herself as an artist but remains beloved today for a number of incarnations: Grammy-winning singer/songwriter, Tony-winning Broadway composer (Kinky Boots), Emmy-winning actress (I love her co-starring performance with Jeff Goldblum in the underrated 1988 movie Vibes), fashion trendsetter, author and LGBTQ+ rights advocate.

Now, Lauper is the subject of Let the Canary Sing, a feature-length documentary exploring her remarkable life and career. It premiered exclusively on Paramount+ on Tuesday, June 4. Directed by Emmy-winning documentarian Alison Ellwood, the film made its world premiere at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival.

“When you’re a singer and you have a lot of jobs, that’s one thing,” Lauper says in the documentary. “But when you start to have too many different professions, that is the problem.” It is hard to believe the still-youthful woman will turn 71 this month.

Let the Canary Sing chronicles Lauper’s meteoric ascent to stardom and her profound impact on generations through her music, ever-evolving punk style, unwavering feminism and tireless advocacy. The documentary is an engaging exploration of a renowned and pioneering artist who has left a remarkable legacy with her art. Commentators in the film include celebrities Boy George, Billy Porter and Patti LaBelle in addition to Cyndi’s lesbian sister Elen and her brother Fred.

In the film’s press release, Lauper said: “Over the years, I’ve been asked to do a documentary about my life and work but it never felt like the right time. Until now. When I first met Alison Ellwood, I knew right away I could trust her to tell my story honestly, which was incredibly important to me, and she succeeded in that.”

Ellwood’s prior feature film directing credits include San Francisco Sounds: A Place In Time, The Go-Go’s, Laurel Canyon: A Place in Time, History of the Eagles and American Jihad. Her television directing credits include How to Change Your Mind, a four-part series with writer Michael Pollen for Netflix; Women of Troy for HBO Sports; CNN’s Death Row Stories and the Emmy Award-winning series American High. She has also produced and edited several acclaimed feature documentaries including the Oscar-nominated Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, Totally Under Control, Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, My Trip to Al Qaeda and Casino Jack and the United States of Money.

 

The RAGE Monthly spoke with Ellwood via Zoom. Some of her responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.

 

As a longtime lover of Cyndi Lauper, I thoroughly enjoyed your documentary and I feel people are really going to like it. What drew you to her as a subject in the first place?

Thank you! I was a fan of hers of course early, early on and always loved her music. When we were at Sundance with The Go-Go’s film a few years ago, right before what I call the plague (COVID-19), Belinda Carlisle was talking about Cyndi and said: “Oh, I should hook you guys up and you should definitely make a film about Cyndi.” So, one of the producers at Fine Point (Ellwood’s production company) took Belinda up on that and connected with Cyndi, and then Cyndi and I spoke a few times and we hit it off. I started reading her autobiography and talking to her about her story, and I realized it was such a deeply rich story, so multi-faceted. She’s interested in so many different types of music too, and has a constant desire to bring new things and elements into what her voice can do, which is astounding.

That’s great. Now, she was reportedly kind of resistant to having a documentary made about her.

She said, “I’m not dead yet, why do you need to do this?” (laughs)

So how did you win her over or convince her that now is a good time?

We just spoke and I said: “Look, it’s a mutual trust; I trust you to be honest and you trust me to tell your story honestly.” I’m not into doing salacious films or anything like that. I just wanted an interesting, true story to tell and her story was fascinating.

Did you have open access to her story, her music, the archival footage, all that?

Yeah, oh yeah. They had a lot of stuff and then obviously we got things from other vendors, but whatever they had we could use. Her material, especially compared to some other artists I’ve worked with, was very well-organized. (laughs) They knew where things were and could find things easily. They didn’t necessarily own everything — we had to license it from other people — but they gave us a treasure trove to work with. We also had a great archival producer who reached out and found other things too.

What is your personal favorite Cyndi Lauper song, performance or incarnation, in terms of all the different things she does and roles she plays?

Oh God, there’s so many. Obviously “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” and “Time After Time,” two of the classics. “True Colors.” I also love some of the stuff from her last album, Sisters of Avalon. There are some songs on it that are just stunningly beautiful. And I like that her songs tell stories and have messages. Sometimes they are very subtly in there but if you listen carefully you can catch what she’s talking about. Her advocacy for so many issues and for people in general is something I find appealing as a human being.

Sure. And she has matured nicely over the years. She’s matured vocally but also in terms of subjects and songwriting. That’s been cool to see. While you were filming or creating the documentary, what did you learn about Cyndi that maybe surprised you or most impressed you?

She is incredibly smart and has brilliant comic timing. She is very funny, and everything is really thought through. She doesn’t do things off the cuff necessarily. She knows where she’s going, and I think the thing that was so fun is at the time you kind of wonder where is she going with this and why is she doing this, but it was all carefully thought through. She is brilliant. And she was really, truly open about everything. You would ask a question and she would go for 20 minutes and you’d think “Wait, what was the question?” (laughs)

Director Alison Ellwood

You have a very impressive resume. How did you first get into filmmaking?

From the time I was probably 5 years old I was obsessed with National Geographic and wanted to be a photojournalist, and then that turned into documentary filmmaking. Similar, but I knew what I wanted early on.

That’s awesome! What are you working on now, or is there anything new you’re developing?

Yeah, we have a four-part series called The Wonderland Massacre & The Secret History of Hollywood for MGM+ that was based on a podcast that Michael Connelly did a couple years ago. It’s a crazy, crazy, crazy story. And we’re working on a feature film about Culture Club. It was fun to interview Boy George for Cyndi’s film and now I’m interviewing Boy George for his own film.

Oh, great! What would you most like LGBTQ+ viewers to take away from watching Let the Canary Sing?

That Cyndi has always been a voice for the LGBTQ+ community. Early, early on and long before it was hip, favorable or anything to do that. She was a strong advocate, always has been and to this day still is. As I said earlier, it’s a reflection of her humanity. She genuinely, truly cares about people, especially people that are in some way slighted. Her sister is gay and she had very close friends who were gay, one of whom died of AIDS. His story is told in the film and is deeply moving.

For more information about the documentary or to subscribe, visit paramountplus.com. Of note, Legacy Recordings will release a Let the Canary Sing companion album. It is a career-spanning collection that follows Lauper’s career, starting from her days in early band Blue Angel to her breakout single “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” to the iconic pop stardom that followed. With hits like “True Colors” and “I Drove All Night,” this collection will surely be a staple for any Cyndi Lauper fan.

 

Chris Carpenter has been writing about entertainment since 1996 and a member of Team Rage since 2012. He is a founding member and vice president emeritus of GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics.