Now, first and foremost, this project is so fresh that you can't even say it's in the preliminary stages of development. It's far from being greenlit, so don't get too excited yet, but it's extremely possible that it may happen.
Fox has commissioned writer/novelist Bret Easton Elliot (American Psycho novel, The Canyons) and famed horror director Rob Zombie (The Devil's Rejects, The Lords of Salem) for a project that sheds light on the people and circumstances that led to the infamous Manson Family murders. Ellis and Zombie have teamed with Alcon Television for the project. The project is envisioned as a miniseries, and will focus on the intersecting stories of lives and events leading up to what became known as the most infamous murder spree in American history. Zombie developed the idea for the project with Adam Kolbrenner and Robyn Meisinger of Madhouse Entertainment, who then took it to Ellis and Alcon. Ellis, Zombie and the Madhouse principals will exec produce with Alcon’s
Sharon Hall, Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson. Ben Roberts and Ryan
Cunningham serve as co-producers.
The Manson Family murders have drawn interest and speculation from millions of people since their twisted ideology came to light in 1969, and Zombie's interest in the case is what drew him into the project. “I have been obsessed with this insane story since I was a kid, so
obviously I jumped at the chance to be involved in this incredible
project. After speaking with Bret, I immediately realized that we shared
the same vision for this epic madness,” Zombie said.
Charles Manson's level of depravity, manipulation and sadistic tendencies run so deep that he was convicted and sentenced to death in 1971 without having committed a single homicide. When the death sentence was abolished in America in 1972, as being seen unconstitutional, Manson's sentence was changed to life in prison. However, when it was reinstated, his sentence of life imprisonment stood. He has been denied parole 12 times, but continues to harbor a band of followers outside the walls of Corcoran State Prison who still call themselves the Manson family.
On Monday night I had the privilege of getting some passes
to see Sir Paul McCartney perform in the middle of Hollywood Blvd for the Jimmy
Kimmel Show. Yes, that is correct, Hollywood Blvd was shut down and Macca, The
Beatle, performed some of his most beloved songs for over an hour to the joy
and wonder of thousands of happy onlookers. It was quite exciting standing on
the dotted line and hearing “Hey Jude” blare over the crowd to a chorus of
thousands of “nah nah nah”s.
Now, you may be wondering “Rg, what does The Beatles have to
do with horror, and why are you rambling about Paul McCartney on your site?”
Well, I assure you it has little do with simply wanting to brag about it
(although, I’d be lying if that isn’t some
part of it), I thought it would be fun to look at the other side of The
Beatles. While yes, they were all about peace, love and happiness, some of the
most beloved Beatles songs are about murder, beating women, arson and have
fuelled some of the most grisly murders America has seen. They just sound so
wonderfully happy that you never even question it!
So here we go! Let’s take a peek at some of the darker
things that The Fab Four sang about in their day:
1. Maxwell’s Silver Hammer – Paul
McCartney
Released in 1969, Maxwell’s Silver Hammer was written
(and primarily recorded) by Paul McCartney. While it was originally written be
included on The Beatles (a.k.a. The White Album), it was left out
due to timing issues and was included on their final album Abbey Road. While the
light and happy music was described by John Lennon as “more of Paul’s granny
music”, the lyrics hold a much darker message of a man named Maxwell who
decides to (literally) kill anyone who stands in his way with his trusty silver
hammer, starting with his girlfriend, moving on to his teacher and ending with
the judge sentencing him for the previous crimes.
The chorus, “Bang,
bang Maxwell’s silver hammer came down upon her head. Clang, clang Maxwell’s
silver hammer made sure that she was dead” is one of those choruses that no matter how
dark it may be, you would never assume that sweet little Paul could ever write
about actually killing someone, much
less 3 someones.
2. Run For Your Life – John Lennon
John Lennon had a tendency to be a bit angry, and that is
showcased on the 1965 track Run For Your Life. The title alone
should tell you plenty about what the song entails, it was released on the
studio album Rubber Soul and was so nasty, in fact, that John Lennon claimed
that it was his least favorite Beatles song. He went on to revisit the same
theme, only in a more apologetic tone with his post-Beatles tune Jealous
Guy.
The introductory line, “Well
I’d rather see you dead little girl, than to catch you with another man” is
only the beginning of this allegedly misogynistic song, the chorus is where the
real meat and potatoes lies, “You better
run for your life if you can little girl, hide your head in the sand little
girl, catch you with another man that’s the end’a little girl”. It doesn’t
stop there, we even get a nice (and very direct) threat on the girls life in
third verse, “Let this be a sermon I mean
everything I’ve said, Baby I’m determined and I’d rather see you dead”.
Eesh, I think I’d regret that one too.
3. Norwegian Wood (The Bird Has Flown)
– John Lennon/Paul McCartney
This has always been one of my favorites, which is saying a
lot considering it’d be damn near impossible for me to name a favorite song,
much less a favorite album. Released in 1965 on the album Rubber Soul, it is the
first rock song to incorporate the use of a sitar, which was played by George
Harrison. It’s a pretty little song, with a folk-inspired, finger picked
acoustic guitar part that intertwines with the sitar as Lennon sings about an affair
that he had while married to Cynthia Lennon.
The song isn’t so much about murder, or death, as some of
the others in this list, but it’s more about the story behind it. Lennon began
writing the song while on holiday with his wife Cynthia, which makes it all
that much funnier that it happened to be about an affair that he had. What
makes it even better is that he couldn’t even remember which affair it was, he
just knew that he didn’t want Cynthia finding out about the true meaning of the
song. When he approached Paul to help him finish the lyrics, it was Paul who
came up with the title of Norwegian Wood and when stumped with
how to end the song, it was also Paul who thought it would be fitting to burn
down the harlot’s house. That’s right, they burn down the poor girl’s house.
“She told me she worked in the morning and
started to laugh. I told her I didn't and crawled off to sleep in the bath. And
when I awoke I was alone, this bird had flown. So I lit a fire, isn't it good
Norwegian wood?”
The moral of
the story? Don’t cocktease The Beatles. They will light all your shit on fire.
As Macca said when asked about the lyrics, “So
she makes him sleep in the bath and then finally in the last verse I had this
idea to set the Norwegian wood on fire as revenge, so we did it very tongue in
cheek. She led him on, then said, "You'd better sleep in the bath."
In our world the guy had to have some sort of revenge… so it meant I burned the
place down…”
4. Helter Skelter – Paul McCartney
Another song that, lyrically, has little to do with murder.
Mayhem, yes, but murder, no. When The Who released I Can See for Miles in
1967, Pete Townshend went on to call it the “loudest,
rawest, dirtiest song the Who had ever recorded”. Now, being Paul
McCartney, he took it as a personal goal to outdo The Who and write the
loudest, rawest, dirtiest song ever recorded period and Helter Skelter was the end result.
Released in 1968 on The White Album the song depicted everything the title meant;
mayhem, disorder and it was a slap in the face to the critics who claimed that
McCartney was only capable of writing ballads.
It was a fantastic song yes, but some folks took it a little
too literally and in 1969 Charles Manson termed a coming “racial war” after the
song, which he later used to manipulate and use a group of young derelict kids
who were looking for some kind of hope and purpose in life. Termed the Manson
Family, he began a killing spree that shocked the nation when he sent several members
of the family to various houses where they killed in cold blood, sprawling“HELTER
SKELTER” and other obscenities on the
walls in blood. The most notable of these murders was that of Sharon Tate, the
famous actress who was married (and pregnant with the child of) to Roman
Polanski.
Manson may have believed that he was the 5th
Beatle, or he may not have, he was a master manipulator. But one thing is for
certain, he loved The Beatles.
So there ya go. A few Beatles songs that aren’t necessarily about
peace and love, but the exact opposite. Now, most importantly The Beatles were
about love, peace and acceptance and that is why they will always be my
favorite band. This article is in no way meant to slander their name, or the
beautiful music they created, merely a fun article reflecting a different side
to the band that we all think we know so well. So go, make love and all that
other hippie dippie shit. I got some horror movies to watch.
