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The Making Of
The Lords of Flatbush
The Making of The Lords of Flatbush chronicles this mini-classic film from inspiration to perspiration to final reward. It is the story of one man's dream to make an independent motion picture based on his life in a motorcycle gang in the 1950's,from the original idea through the pain of raising money and the rigors of independent film production to the film's instant success and the joy it brought when it was sold to Columbia Pictures and topped the box office as the biggest grossing film in release.
For dollar invested to dollar returned The Lords of Flatbush was one of the biggest money making films of all time.
The book reveals how everyone involved went on to become legends in their field; from Sylvester Stallone who went on to become “Rocky” to Henry Winkler who became “The Fonz”. It tells how Richard Gere was the original lead and how Bette Midler’s manager pulled her out at the last minute. Composer Joe Brooks later won an Academy Award for “You Light Up My Life” and Paul Jabara won an Oscar for Donna Summer's “Last Dance”.
Stephen Verona is the true hyphenated artist of the 20th-century, author, painter, photographer, movie director, advertising agency executive, script-writer, music video director. Stephen Verona has done it all in outstanding fashion. He created the FIRST music videos starting
with the Beatles, 17 years BEFORE MTV.
Raised in Brooklyn, setting for “The Lords Of Flatbush,” at age 27 he was nominated for an Academy Award for his live action short film “The Rehearsal,” was co-creative director of the major advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather. His music videos for The Beatles, Chicago, Barbra Streisand, Liza Minnelli, Leonard Bernstein and over a hundred other world-renowned artists and was named the “grandfather of music videos” by People Magazine.
His paintings and photographs are in important collections and museums throughout the world.
He has won over 100 Awards for his work.
How I came to write the Lords of Flatbush
According to People Magazine, I was the person responsible for creating Music Videos when I befriended John Lennon and that morphed into directing the Beatles first 2 videos in 1966 and followed them up with Barbra Streisand singing "My Coloring Book".
Then I produced and directed The Lovin' Spoonful. Jay & The Americans, Santana, Chicago, Johnny Cash, Johnny Winter, Edgar Winter, Leonard Bernstein, Isaac Stern, Johnny Mathius, Jeff Beck, Redbone, Loudon Wainwright III, Andy Williams, Jim Nabors, Pierre Boulez, Andre Watts, Percy Faith, Lynne ANderson, Carl Perkins, The Tennessee Three, The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Hershel Bernardi, Simon & Garfunkle, & Countless others – and when I was through with my second 90 minute Musical promotion film, I realized that I had a refrigerator filled with raw film, and so I wrote the “Lords of Flatbush”.
Otherwise I was not going to get laid as my girl friend refused to be there till I wrote. We took a house out in Montauk, Long Island for the long Memorial Day Weekend.
Needless to say, I wrote and wrote. Today, I realized if it wasn't for John Lennon bringing me to Clive Davis and Columbia Records. ”The Lords of Flatbush” never would have been made.
And therefore, No “Rocky,” No Fonz. No stepping stones to fame and fortune.
How life would have been different for so many of us
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