If you haven’t yet watched The Defiant Ones on HBO, clear your calendar for tonight. The four-part docuseries intertwines the stories of mega-producer Dr. Dre and music industry titan Jimmy Iovine into a masterful narrative that seems to be inspiring everyone we know right now. If you, like us, have seen it and are now wishing there was more to the story, fret not—we’ve found a bunch of other documentaries that’ll give you similar vibes. Here, six docs to queue up if you’re as obsessed with The Defiant Ones as we are.
Songbreaking
If what you loved about The Defiant Ones was the behind-the-scenes look at music production involving legendary stars, this eight-part PBS series will give you that and more. It features more than 160 interviews with big names like Beck, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Tom Petty, The Black Keys, Bon Iver and Billy Idol and provides an in-depth look at the last century in music innovation and evolution. Watch the trailer here and check out the full series on Hulu.
Supermensch
If you found Jimmy Iovine's story to be compelling, you might want to check out that of famed talent manager Shep Gordon, as recounted in this film directed by Mike Myers (of all people). Shep is responsible for the success of big names like Blondie, Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper and more. You can watch the Supermensch trailer here and view the entire film here.
Danny Says
Danny Says follows the trajectory of Danny Fields, one of the most influential names in punk rock who managed the likes of The Ramones and The Stooges. You can watch the trailer here and catch the entire film on Netflix.
The Kid Stays In The Picture
The Kid Stays in the Picture tells the story of the rise and fall (and rise again) of movie producer Robert Evans, who oversaw films like Chinatown, Rosemary's Baby and Love Story. If Hollywood proper interests you more than the music business does, this film is for you. View the trailer here and the full film on Netflix.
I Am Bolt
If you found Dr. Dre's drive motivational, you haven't seen anything yet. We have no desire to be Olympic competitors (we can barely walk up the three flights of stairs to our offices, in fact) and yet this film makes us feel as though anything is possible. If you're experiencing a slump in ambition, almost no film beats this one in terms of resurrecting your will to succeed. You can watch the trailer here and find the full film on Amazon.
Finding Vivian Maier
Finding Vivian Maier is the crazy-compelling story of an unassuming nanny who left behind 100,000 masterful photographs, unseen in her lifetime, when she died. It may not have the star power of some of the other films on this list, but it'll leave you feeling inspired nonetheless—and it features a (gasp!) woman at its center. You can watch the trailer here and the full film here.
