Report: LED ZEPPELIN Makes Hell For Film Over 'Heaven'
November 6, 2006, 18 years ago
Chicago Sun-Times (www.suntimes.com) has issued the following report from Cindy Pearlman:
He wanted to climb the 'Stairway To Heaven', but Jack Black ended up on the highway to hell.
That's what happens when you deal with a temperamental classic rock group like LED ZEPPELIN. To wit: Black tried to use their most famous song title, 'Stairway To Heaven', in his new movie, Tenacious D In The Pick Of Destiny.
Permission was granted by Zeppelin - but after the scene was filmed, Black didn't get a whole lotta love from the Zep. The members demanded to pull their song title from the gag.
The scene is in a mock Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame set in California. The deal was: All rock groups depicted in this faked museum had to give permission to use their name, likeness, music and/or song titles. Black and his "D" partner Kyle Gass have a moment when they climb a huge staircase with a flashing neon sign "Stairway To Heaven."
"THE BEATLES said yes to having their image in the scene. Many groups said no problem," says "D" director Liam Lynch. "Zeppelin was a problem. They gave us permission and withdrew it after we filmed the scene with a huge 'Stairway To Heaven'. They said no and we had to re-shoot that part of the movie.""We ended up calling the staircase 'Guitarway To Heaven,'" says Lynch. "And we were like f--- you. I don't really want to get into it more. We also had problems with the SEX PISTOLS."
For his part, Black isn't upset with the rock legends. "We liked 'Guitarway To Heaven'. It sounded a little dumber, which made me happy," says the comic rocker.
