American Hot Wax
| American Hot Wax | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Floyd Mutrux |
| Produced by | Art Linson |
| Written by | John Kaye |
| Starring |
Tim McIntire Fran Drescher Jay Leno Laraine Newman Moosie Drier Jeff Altman John Lehne Richard Perry Chuck Berry Jerry Lee Lewis Screamin' Jay Hawkins Frankie Ford Charles Greene |
| Music by | Kenny Vance |
| Cinematography | William A. Fraker |
| Edited by | Ronald J. Fagan Melvin Shapiro Danford B. Greene (sup) |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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91 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $11,000,000 |
American Hot Wax is a 1978 biopic film directed by Floyd Mutrux and written by John Kaye, telling the story of pioneering disc jockey Alan Freed, who was instrumental in introducing and popularizing rock and roll in the 1950s. Freed is often credited with coining the term "Rock 'n' Roll." The film starred Tim McIntire as Freed, and Fran Drescher as Freed's feisty secretary, Laraine Newman as a young aspiring songwriter, Melanie Chartoff as a young singer, Jeff Altman as a sleazy record promoter who is told off by everybody he approaches, Jay Leno as Freed's mischievous limousine driver, Moosie Drier in a warmly reviewed performance as the head of a Buddy Holly fan club with at least 5,000 members, and a walk-on part by a teenaged Cameron Crowe. It also featured performances by Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Frankie Ford, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, and the Brooklyn Dreams as "Professor La Plano and The Planotones". On theater release, the film did not do well at the box office with critics, which resulted in one of the reasons it did not gain a wide audience gross worldwide.
A&M Records released a two-record soundtrack album featuring the Brooklyn Paramount performances from the movie on record one (in stereo) and original recordings used throughout the film on record two (all in mono). The soundtrack reached number 31 on the Billboard charts, leaving some to wonder just how that was possible with such meagre public exposure.
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