A new documentary about John Lennon and wife Yoko Ono’s weeklong stint as guest co-hosts of The Mike Douglas Show in 1972 will premiere on October 9, coinciding with what would’ve been the late Beatles legend’s 84th birthday.
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According to Deadline, the film, titled Daytime Revolution, will initially open in more than 50 theaters across the U.S.
The movie focus is the improbable time when Lennon and Ono basically took over Mike Douglas’ popular daytime talk show for five days in February 1972. In addition to co-hosting the program, the couple produced the episodes and chose the guests who appeared on the shows.
Among the guests who visited the show that week were consumer advocate Ralph Nader, anti-war activist Jerry Rubin, Black Panther leader Bobby Seale, comedian George Carlin, and, perhaps most famously, Lennon’s musical hero Chuck Berry.
According to a May 2024 press release from the Kino Lorber film distribution company, Daytime Revolution will feature archival footage from all five episodes co-hosted by John and Yoko, as well as interviews with six guests who appeared on the shows.
A new press release about the film notes, “Daytime Revolution takes us back in time, as we observe John and Yoko interacting with a transfixed studio audience in revealing Q and A sessions where John Lennon was astonishingly candid about his life after the Beatles. … In addition, the shows featured blazing musical performances, including an epic duet with Chuck Berry, and a poignant rendition of the now classic ‘Imagine.’”
The shows also included conceptual art presentations and cooking segments.
Yoko Ono’s Comments About the Guest-Hosting Stint
As shared in the Deadline article, Ono discussed her and Lennon’s stint on The Mike Douglas Show during a 1972 press conference.
“We wanted to do the shows to show that we are working for peace and love, and also to change the world, not with violence, but with love,” she explained. “And everybody that we selected is participating in efforts to change the world.”
More About Daytime Revolution
Daytime Revolution was directed by Erik Nelson, whose previous credits include the documentaries The Gray State, The Cold Blue, Apocalypse ’45, and Ford at Pearl. Yoko Ono and Sean Ono Lennon served as creative consultants on the project.
Just prior to the launch of its theatrical run, Daytime Revolution will get its world premiere at the Hamptons International Film Festival. The fest, which runs from October 4 to October 14, will take place at various locations on Long Island, New York. Home video and digital releases also are planned for the movie following its run in theaters.
Another Doc About Lennon and Ono Is Premiering Soon
As previously reported, another documentary focusing on Lennon and Ono during the early 1970s also is scheduled to premiere soon. One to One: John & Yoko, which looks at the couple’s life in New York City during the turbulent year of 1972, will get its world premiere on August 30 at the 2024 Venice International Film Festival in Italy.
The movie’s centerpiece is Lennon’s One to One Concerts, which took place on August 30, 1972, at Madison Square Garden. The two shows were the only full-length performances Lennon ever gave after the breakup of The Beatles.
The festival also will host the world premiere of another Beatles-related film, TWST – Things We Said Today. The flick, which premieres September 4, is a partly factual movie that looks at events surrounding The Beatles’ historic 1965 concert at Shea Stadium in Queens, New York.
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