One-Trick Pony (film)

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This article is about the film. For the album, see One-Trick Pony (album).

One-Trick Pony

Directed by	Robert M. Young
Produced by	Michael Tannen
Written by	Paul Simon
Starring	Paul Simon Blair Brown Rip Torn
Music by	Paul Simon
Cinematography	Dick Bush
Editing by	Edward Beyer Barry Malkin David Ray
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release dates	3 October 1980
Running time	98 min
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$843,215^[1]

One-Trick Pony is a 1980 film written by and starring Paul Simon. It co-stars Blair Brown, Joan Hackett and Rip Torn and is directed by Robert M. Young.

The song "Late in the Evening", from the film's soundtrack, hit #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. After years of being available only on videocassette and laserdisc, in 2009 the film was released by Warner Brothers on DVD.

Synopsis

Simon plays Jonah Levin, a once-popular folk rock star who has not had a hit in ten years, and who now opens for punk rock bands. He is trying to record a new album, but faces a number of obstacles, including a trendy but talentless producer who is trying to convince him to have sex with her, and an indifferent record company which is pressuring him for something that will sell. He is also trying to restore his relationship with his former wife and his young son. The character wears a baseball cap for much of the film.

The title derives from a colloquial American expression meaning a person specializing in only one area, having only one talent, or of limited ability.^[2] ^[3]

The film has been said ^[4] to be based on experiences in Simon's professional and personal life. Walter Fox, the record company executive portrayed by Rip Torn, was rumored to be based on Walter Yetnikoff, who was President of CBS Records, Simon's former label, in the '70s. (Simon went to Warner Bros. Records in 1979.) The film featured the last appearance of the original members of The Lovin' Spoonful, in a simulated TV show appearance.

The One-Trick Pony album was released concurrently. All of the songs on the album are featured in the film, most in a differently mixed version; e.g. the song "Jonah" features a harmonica solo (probably by Toots Thielemans) that is removed from the album version. The film contains one Paul Simon song not featured on the original album, Jonah Levin's fictional sixties hit "Soft Parachutes".

Cast

Actors

Paul Simon as Jonah
Blair Brown as Marion
Rip Torn as Walter Fox
Joan Hackett as Lonnie Fox
Allen Garfield as Cal van Damp
Mare Winningham as Modeena Dandridge
Michael Pearlman as Matty Levin
Lou Reed as Steve Kunelian
Steve Gadd as Danny Duggin
Eric Gale as Lee-Andrew Parker
Tony Levin as John Dibatista
Richard Tee as Clarence Franklin
Harry Shearer as Bernie Wepner
Daniel Stern as Hare Krishna

Musicians

External links

One-Trick Pony at the Internet Movie Database

References

↑ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=onetrickpony.htm
↑ "Oxford English Dictionary, Third edition, June 2004; online version March 2011". Missing or empty |url= (help); |accessdate= requires |url= (help)
↑ Oregon Pioneer Assoc. 32nd Ann. Reunion. 1905. p. 264.
↑ Jackson, Laura. (2002). Paul Simon: The Definitive Bio. New York: Citadel Press. p 163

Films directed by Robert M. Young

Short Eyes (1977)
Alambrista! (1977)
Rich Kids (1979)
One-Trick Pony (1980)
Saving Grace (1986)
Extremities (1986)
Dominick and Eugene (1988)
Triumph of the Spirit (1989)
Talent for the Game (1991)
Children of Fate: Life and Death in a Sicilian Family (1993)
Roosters (1993)
Solomon & Sheba (1995)
Slave of Dreams (1995)
Caught (1996)
China: The Panda Adventure (2001)
Human Error (2004)

v t e Paul Simon

Studio albums	The Paul Simon Songbook Paul Simon There Goes Rhymin' Simon Still Crazy After All These Years One-Trick Pony Hearts and Bones Graceland The Rhythm of the Saints Songs from The Capeman You're the One Surprise So Beautiful or So What

Live albums	Paul Simon in Concert: Live Rhymin' Paul Simon's Concert in the Park, August 15, 1991

Compilations	Greatest Hits, Etc.' Negotiations and Love Songs Born At The Right Time The Paul Simon Collection The Paul Simon Anthology Paul Simon 1964/1993 Greatest Hits: Shining Like a National Guitar The Paul Simon Collection: On My Way, Don't Know Where I'm Goin' The Studio Recordings, 1972-2000 Recorded as Jerry Landis The Essential Paul Simon This Better Be Good Songwriter

Film and theater	One-Trick Pony The Capeman

Related articles	Discography Simon & Garfunkel Never Ending Tour 1999

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