Cameron Crowe on Making the Lost 1983 Tom Petty Rock Doc ‘Heartbreakers Beach Party’ and Being Told by the Star: ‘Congratulations, You’re a Director’
variety.comChris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Before “Almost Famous” and all his other directorial efforts, Cameron Crowe immortalized a different kind of golden god: Tom Petty.
A nearly forgotten documentary he co-directed about Petty & the Heartbreakers in 1983, titled “Heartbreakers Beach Party,” has been pulled out of the vault and restored, for showings that will take place in theaters across the nation on Thursday and Saturday of this week.
Never publicly available for viewing since briefly airing on MTV in February ‘83, the rock doc is an illuminating lark, catching Petty and his bandmates as they ride out the crest of their first big swell of success, with the group’s fifth album, “Long After Dark,” just about to come out.
They’re still in the prime of rock ‘n’ roll youth and highjinx, although Petty is far enough into his career to wonder what his legacy might be, decades down the line.
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