Judging by all the high quality fan fic going around, John Lennon's birthday must be coming up soon. And PBS has a new documentary of the musical icon, LENNONYC, which focuses on the time in the 1970s when Lennon was semi-retired from music, living a domesticated life living at The Dakota on the Upper West Side with Yoko Ono and son Sean (you can see a clip from it below). The film will run on PBS in November, but because this is Lennon and NYC, Ono announced there will be a special Summerstage premiere on Lennon's actual birthday, Oct. 9.
At a press conference with Mayor Bloomberg announcing the documentary at City Hall yesterday, Ono talked about the importance of the city to Lennon, and how it reflected back on him: "He was one of us. He believed in what the city represents; incredible wisdom, high energy, and incredible love for life. That was John." Since the movie was made with Ono's blessing and input, there'll likely be some cool home footage never seen before, along with clips from the Double Fantasy recording sessions, and live video.
“The period that Lennon lived with his family in New York is perhaps the most tender and affecting phase of his life as a public figure,” said Susan Lacy, series creator and executive producer of American Masters as well as a producer of the Lennon film. Of course, as many wouldn't want you to remember, this was also part of the same time period that Ono and Lennon split up numerous times, and Ono arranged for her assistant May Pang to become his lover. Yup, totally normal domesticated stuff!
