Exploring May Pang and John Lennon's relationship in 'The Lost Weekend: A Love Story'

The ballad of John Lennon and Yoko Ono has actually been informed and re-told; it's a vital part of rock 'n' roll tradition, complete with misconceptions-- Yoko broke up the Beatles, for one-- and other exaggerations. Lost in the grand sweep of the Lennon and Ono saga is the story of May Pang, the essential forgotten lady.

" The Lost Weekend: A Love Story," a documentary opening in select theaters on April 13, modifies that period in the early '70s, giving Pang center stage..


< img alt= "The documentary" The Lost Weekend: A Love Story" informs the ..." class=" lazyload size-article_inline" data-sizes=" car "data-src=" https://www.pressenterprise.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/OCR-L-MAYPANG-0414-03.jpg?w=620" data-srcset=" https://www.pressenterprise.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/OCR-L-MAYPANG-0414-03.jpg?w=620 620w, https://www.pressenterprise.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/OCR-L-MAYPANG-0414-03.jpg?w=780 780w, https://www.pressenterprise.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/OCR-L-MAYPANG-0414-03.jpg?w=810 810w, https://www.pressenterprise.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/OCR-L-MAYPANG-0414-03.jpg?w=1280 1280w, https://www.pressenterprise.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/OCR-L-MAYPANG-0414-03.jpg?w=1860 1860w" > The documentary "The Lost Weekend: A Love Story" tells the story of May Pang and John Lennon in the early '70s.( Courtesy of May Pang). < img alt=" Eve Brandstein, Richard Kaufman and Stuart Samuels are the co-directors ..." class=" lazyload size-article_inline" data-sizes=" car" data-src=" https://www.pressenterprise.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/OCR-L-MAYPANG-0414-01.jpeg?w=620" data-srcset=" https://www.pressenterprise.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/OCR-L-MAYPANG-0414-01.jpeg?w=620 620w, https://www.pressenterprise.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/OCR-L-MAYPANG-0414-01.jpeg?w=640 780w, https://www.pressenterprise.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/OCR-L-MAYPANG-0414-01.jpeg?w=640 810w, https://www.pressenterprise.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/OCR-L-MAYPANG-0414-01.jpeg?w=640 1280w, https://www.pressenterprise.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/OCR-L-MAYPANG-0414-01.jpeg?w=640 1860w" > Eve Brandstein, Richard Kaufman and Stuart Samuels are the co-directors of" The Lost Weekend: A Love Story "about the relationship of May Pang and John Lennon in the early 1970s.( Courtesy of Iconic Releasing ). < img alt =" The documentary" The Lost Weekend: A Love Story" tells the ..." class= "lazyload size-article_inline" data-sizes= "car "data-src=" https://www.pressenterprise.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/OCR-L-MAYPANG-0414-05.jpg?w=620" data-srcset=" https://www.pressenterprise.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/OCR-L-MAYPANG-0414-05.jpg?w=620 620w, https://www.pressenterprise.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/OCR-L-MAYPANG-0414-05.jpg?w=780 780w, https://www.pressenterprise.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/OCR-L-MAYPANG-0414-05.jpg?w=810 810w, https://www.pressenterprise.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/OCR-L-MAYPANG-0414-05.jpg?w=1280 1280w, https://www.pressenterprise.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/OCR-L-MAYPANG-0414-05.jpg?w=1860 1860w" > The documentary" The Lost Weekend: A Love Story" informs the story of May Pang and John Lennon in the early '70s.( Courtesy of May Pang). The documentary" The Lost Weekend: A Love Story" informs the story of May Pang and John Lennon in the early '70s.( Courtesy of May Pang). The documentary" The Lost Weekend: A Love Story" informs the story of May Pang and John Lennon in the early '70s. (Courtesy of May Pang). Show Caption of. Expand. The movie recounts that Ono believed she was losing her husband therefore passed off a hesitant
Pang, the couple's personal assistant, into Lennon's arms in order to manage the relationship and take Lennon back when she was all set. Lennon did eventually return to Ono, however only after the 18-month affair in between Pang and the decade-older ex-Beatle became much more intimate and severe than anybody anticipated; Pang likewise assisted reunite Lennon with his kid Julian, from whom he 'd been separated. Eve Brandstein, one of the movie's 3 directors, first approached Pang about the project a quarter-century back. Pang wasn't interested, however the women became good friends and ultimately Pang altered her mind. Brandstein, whose background is primarily as a casting director, brought in co-directors Richard Kaufman, who has a long profession in editing, and Stuart Samuels, whose long profession producing and directing documentaries includes "The Beatles: Eight Days A Week-- The Touring Years.". The three just recently spoke by video about making the movie and about informing the story of Pang, who Kaufman refers to as" a scrappy lady from Spanish Harlem." The interview has been edited for length and clarity. Q. What drew you to tell her story

? Brandstein: I understood the surface area simply from the news at the time, but May's story was obscured by this other narrative. The concept of doing this unknown story of the lady who was left behind captivated me, particularly in the context these days's
ideas about benefit and whose stories
we inform. Kaufman: Eve wished to make sure this got informed as a love story, and that's what resonates. Samuels: May had actually been a footnote and we wanted to tell this from May's perspective. We were not attempting to make an objective documentary. Brandstein: In a sense, the movie ended up being a memoir. We don't show individuals talked to at the age they are now-- other than for Julian Lennon-- we hear their voices and we see photos showing them from at that time. Only in the last act do we see May now. Q. How crucial was it to have May's individual

images and John's doodles to assist see beyond the public image of John in that duration? Samuels: We were in the opposite situation of Peter Jackson-- he had more than 100 hours of video to tell the story of "Get Back." Because this is a movie about May's private minutes with John, we have barely any video footage of John and May but that's. You get to see a different side of John Lennon and it humanizes him. Kaufman: John gave May a Nikon and a Polaroid. He liked seeing his life through May's eyes so she produced a very intimate portrait of him and them together. May also still has 17 of his doodles, which remain in the movie and which also assist tell the story of their relationship. Then Stuart got us video footage and stills that surpassed those personal pictures and illustrations. Samuels: I had just come off "8 Days a Week, "so I called a gatekeeper of the Beatle archive world and he said the collectors wished to assist since they believe May got a raw deal. Q. If, as the movie reveals, a company pressed an assistant 17 years her junior into a relationship with her other half today, you can envision that would be a cancel culture moment. Did you have to take care with that part of the story?. Brandstein: We talk to context in the film, and this was absolutely a different era. There was a power imbalance. May was terrified when Yoko initially approached her about this concept. May was so young-- she was an infant still-- handling individuals who were her managers and were a fair bit older. We attempted to avoid making Yoko the evil one; we do not have her story. Q. But May worked to repair

that rift with Julian. Brandstein: At 22, many people don't have their lives together, however here was this girl recognizing that John did not have a relationship with his boy because of Yoko. When I asked her about bringing them back together, she said," I didn't want what happened to me and my father to happen to someone else.". Kaufman: May was sobbing genuine tears when she informed us
the story about Julian. Brandstein: May made it easy for everyone. Might helped John and Cynthia have closure and Julian liked the relationship in between May and Cynthia, which lasted for the rest of Cynthia's life. Q. The oft-told version of John's "Lost Weekend "story was that he was drinking and carousing in L.A. with Harry Nilsson, Ringo Starr and Keith Moon, however the motion picture shows that in addition
to reuniting with Julian, he likewise sobered up and dealt with May in Manhattan. Samuels: ‘ The Lost Weekend 'is thought of as an empty duration of John's life however it's not. Kaufman: That's why we call it a love story in the title. When she was sick one night, John said, "

Don't worry, I'll go to the store and get you something" and she said," You are going to go to the store? Do you even have a wallet?" He did go and get her something for her stomach. It was a real romance. Brandstein: It's one of the most efficient durations of his solo profession.

Samuels: ‘May was with John when he satisfied David Bowie [with whom he co-wrote "Fame"]
and when he met Elton John [ with whom he tape-recorded" Whatever Gets You Through the Night "and John's cover of" Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds."] Q. The film reveals that as a couple they were far more social than John and Yoko, with images of David Bowie or Paul and Linda McCartney coming by the apartment. Brandstein: May opened up his life and all these friends showed up.

It was flexibility for him. Kaufman: Prior to this relationship, John Lennon just saw America from a limousine or an airplane or hotel room. May would state, "Let's go on a bus ride." With someone else, John's life was constantly about an appointment but with May it had to do with remaining in the minute. Samuels: We didn't want to go too much into the" What if John had actually stuck with May"-- it's not about whether the Beatles might have returned together. However we have this BBC video footage where you see John on a horse in Central Park and playing with people and there's this
great spontaneity in his life. If that had actually gone on, think of.