The incredible career of the late Australian impresario Michael Gudinski will be retold in a major new documentary.
Ego: The Michael Gudinsky Story will open in cinemas across Australia from 31 August after premiering on 10 August at the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) – the music man’s beloved home city.
MIFF introduced the film as “a uniquely Australian tribute to a much-loved industry legend”.
starring Paul Goldman (Such is life: The Troubled Times of Ben Cousins, Ego will tell the MG story with never-before-seen archive footage, and with the likes of Jimmy Barnes, Vika & Linda Bull, Garbage, Dave Grohl, Vance Joy, Paul Kelly, Kylie Minogue, Mark Seymour, Ed Sheeran, Bruce Springsteen and more Will interview sting.
“Renowned for its eccentricity and daring,” reads a statement (May 23) unveiling the new project. Ego “dives into Michael’s psyche and unorthodox tactics as he becomes the harbinger of a cultural movement and builds a musical empire whose artists soundtrack a nation.”
Gudinsky’s Mushroom Group is celebrating its 50th anniversary, the time has come to leave the project, a party that will include a “major live event”.
Now headed by MG’s son, Matt Gudinski, the independent music powerhouse is home to some two dozen companies active in every imaginable sector of the music industry, including Mushroom Music Publishing, the country’s leading independent publisher; Labels I Oh You, Liberation and Bloodlines; and concert promotion Juggernaut Frontier Touring.
The larger-than-life entrepreneur passed away on March 2, 2021, at the age of 68, a blow that sparked a wave of tributes from the world of music. Several of them appear in the stellar Friends and Extended “Mushroom Family” movie, the trailer of which can be seen below.
“He had the energy of a rock drummer,” recounts Sting. Adds Foo Fighter Grohl, “I imagine being a rock promoter’s biggest fucking nightmare. There must be a reason why he did it.”
After his death, Gudinski was feted with the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s International Power Players list, and a statue of the great man was erected outside Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena, featuring MG with his familiar No. 1 hand. was depicted with the gesture.
Ego: The Michael Gudinsky Story is a Mushroom Studios production, with major production funding from Screen Australia in association with VicScreen. It is funded with support from the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA). Local distribution and international sales are handled by Mushroom Studios.
