2000s
The Petty Archives

Big Screen Embraces Hot Muse: Rock Stars
By David Carr
The New York Times - October 10, 2007

In the second half of "Runnin' Down a Dream," a documentary about Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers by the director Peter Bogdanovich, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam sits in on a duet of "The Waiting." Standing before a tumultuous crowd roaring its approval, Mr. Petty turns to Mr. Vedder and suggests that he enjoy the moment. "Look at that, Eddie -- rock and roll heaven."

Moviegoers might be saying the same thing for months to come. There seems to be enough projects in theaters and in development built on the intersection between celluloid and what used to be called vinyl to fill a jukebox.

Editor's Note: Was there a mixup in the first paragraph?

Garage band memories
By Beth Abbott
Gainesville Sun - Friday, October 12, 2007

Growing up in Gainesville, I lived on 23rd Street right across from Benmont Tench, the bass player and sometimes keyboarder for the Sundowners.

The Tench garage was a frequent rehersal sight being that the Judge was out many evenings and Mrs. Tench loved to have the boys over. The newly formed band would walk to the closest homes and make sure that it was O.K. for them to practice that night. They prefered the garage door open, but could get by with it closed if there was a potiential concern in the neighborhood.

My family's love of music always had my mother, Betty Abbott saying,"Boys, be sure to leave the doors open so we can enjoy your music!" I remember thinking, "those boys just aren't going to make it to the big time."

Editor's Note: The fourth article in the scan ("Big Screen Embraces...") can be read here.

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Petty's odyssey: Film shines light on artist, his Gainesville roots
By Bill Dean
Gainesville Sun - Sunday, October 14, 2007

PETTY: Documentary's director came to city to do interviews
Tom Petty may forever be remembered as the ultimate Gainesville pop-rocker done good, a musician of integrity who never backed down, and a singer/songwriter who could sell 50 million albums and collaborate with artists as varied as Bob Dylan, George Harrison, and Roy Orbison (the Traveling Wilburys), Stevie Nicks, Johnny Cash and Roger McGuinn.

But his complete story has never before been told in a single, for-the-record volume that combines music with film footage to put his entire career and impact on rock 'n' roll and popular music into context -- until now.

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Review: Warning: This film will make Tom Petty fans
By Bill Dean
Gainesville Sun - Monday, October 15, 2007

Nailing a 30-year career and the complexities of a lifetime into a documentary film could easily enough demand a four-hour running time.

But then the question becomes -- as in the case of "Runnin' Down a Dream," Peter Bogdanovich's mammoth look at the life of Tom Petty -- how to keep it brisk, interesting, and even compelling throughout.

The answers are twofold: First, in choosing a subject with enough meat-on-the-bones substance to bite into and digest. Second, in choosing precisely the right chef to serve it all up.
Petty's life, impact and career in music, from a Gainesville bass player to a worldwide music star could could hold his own with George Harrison and Bob Dylan, provides the satisfying ingredients. And given such a wealth of material, Bogdanovich becomes a sous, master and executive chef rolled into one, whipping and sweet-tasting bons mots and a satisfying, four-course meal at the same time.

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Local Celebrities Line Up For Petty Premiere
By Alice Wallace
Gainesville Sun - Tuesday, October 16, 2007

The red carpet was nowhere to be seen, the celebrities wore V-necks rather than Versace, and yet the Gainesville premiere of the Peter Bogdanovich documentary on Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers still had an air of excitement as a couple hundred fans turned out for the four-hour film.

"I think people are really enthusiastic," said Mary Klauser, a representative with Petty's management company as she passed out tickets at the Royal Park theater.

sound off: DVD Documentary
Charleston Post & Courier -- October 25, 2007

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: "Runnin' Down A Dream (Warner Bros)" | A+
With the advent of reality television and digital video, it seems that even emerging artists often have their own "Behind the Music" episodes even before their first album is released.

Therefore, when a documentary about a seasoned, proven artist is released, it almost always deserves a look. "Runnin' Down a Dream" doesn't just deserve a look, it should be required viewing for rock fans.

Filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich ("The Last Picture Show") directed this film, which tells the 30-year history of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

Using photographs, live concert footage, and even home video from the band member's own collection, "Runnin' Down a Dream" tells the fascinating story of an artist who has not only written some of rock's most enduring songs, but who also took the title of one of his own songs, "I Won't Back Down," very seriously.

Film celebrates Heartbreak-ing relationships
By Jim Abbott
Orlando Sentinel - October 28, 2007

The tale of the band's departure from Gainesville is the backbone of the new Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers documentary, Runnin' Down a Dream.

Petty, who turned 57 this past weekend, handles most of the narration of his own story on camera, as Bob Dylan did in Martin Scorsese's No Direction Home.

While Scorsese's film narrows its focus to a short span of Dylan's career in the 1960s, Runnin' director Peter Bogdanovich ambitiously moves chronologically from Petty's childhood all the way to his 2006 solo album, Highway Companion.

That approach makes it harder to draw parallels to cultural and social issues. While No Direction Home told Dylan's story against the backdrop of Vietnam and the civil-rights movement, the biggest issue in the Petty film is the singer's fight against greedy record companies and high CD prices in the 1980s.

TV FEATURE: A documentary destined to be a classic
By Dave Walker
Houston Chronicle - Saturday, October 27, 2007

Something for all in epic look at Petty and Heartbreakers
Peter Bogdanovich would seem to be a weird choice to direct a retrospective documentary about Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

Weird, in that Bogdanovich is best known as a feature-film director (The Last Picture Show), film historian (his documentary Directed by John Ford and his book This Is Orson Wells are considered classics of their genres) and, lately, actor (he played Dr. Elliot Kupferberg in The Sopranos).

According to an interview with Petty at tompetty.com, Bogdanovich didn't know that much about the band before starting the project.

Bogdanovich followed Tom Petty for 'Dream'
By Mike Snider
USA Today - October 28, 2007

For director Peter Bogdanovich and Tom Petty, making the biographical film Runnin' Down a Dream: Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers was similar to the music-making process.

"Our goal was getting it to where it works," Bogdanovich says. "If it works, it plays."

The film wound up an LP, as in long player, with a running time of four hours. "I kept saying if (director Martin) Scorsese (No Direction Home: Bob Dylan) can spend three hours on six years of Bob Dylan's life, we can spend 3½ hours on 30 years of Tom Petty's life, and we did," says Bogdanovich, who spent much of 2006 on tour with the band and interviewing other musicians and family.