Plus: 'The Knick,' Ursher baby and 'Lisa Frankenstein'

View this email online by Aisha Harris Hello, is it culture you’re looking for? It was the week Tracy Chapman and Joni Mitchell made many of us cry happy tears. It was the week the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences finally added a much-needed category to the Oscars. And it was the week the country music world bid farewell to Toby Keith. Let’s get into it. We are the ones who make a brighter day, so let's recast this The Netflix doc The Greatest Night in Pop, which chronicles the making of the megastar-studded charity single "We Are the World," is as heavy on the self-congratulatory vibes as its title implies. (Lionel Richie, co-writer of the song, is an executive producer.) Yet what this love-fest lacks in introspection, it makes up for in fizzy gossip and details about the egos, insecurities and quirks of some of the biggest pop stars of all time. And at some point during my viewing of the doc, it became unquestionably clear to me that even more could be mined from this decades-old, very well-documented historical event. All those legends and bigger-than-life personalities in one room for one long night, collaborating on one earnestly schlocky song, makes for great DRAMA! And we all know there's even more that didn't make it into the doc … So let's dream-cast a big-budget movie or splashy limited series adaptation. Get someone like Issa Rae to pen the script, with a Jon M. Chu-type directing and a dash of Ryan Murphy as producer. (This will need camp.) And then, in the most meta of ways, try to convince the following collection of stars to sign on to recreate the night the U.S.A. for Africa supergroup kicked world hunger's butt. Netflix The following suggestions were concocted with the gracious assistance of friends and colleagues one evening during the Sundance Film Festival, where the doc premiered. Alcohol may or may not have been imbibed during this brainstorming session. The orchestrators Lionel Richie shall be played by Jon Batiste, because they're both earnest, industry-approved musicians who inspire joy no matter how you feel about the music they've made. And while I haven't seen MJ: The Musical, it seems like the obvious choice to play Richie's "We Are the World" co-writer Michael Jackson is Myles Frost, who won a Tony for his portrayal of the moonwalker on Broadway. (The screenplay must include a scene where Jackson's bird and dog squawk and bark at each other in the background as the artists plink away at the piano, crafting the lyrics "There's a choice we're making/ We're saving our own lives.") Stepping in to play elder statesman Harry Belafonte, the mastermind behind the single, is Mario Van Peebles. And as for Quincy Jones, let's cast Jeffrey Wright – the Oscar-nominated actor could pass for Jones at a younger age with a bit of makeup, and he has the kind of commanding no-nonsense presence that the character would certainly need to keep all those egos in check. The "troublemakers" According to archival audio heard in the doc, Jones deemed some of the artists involved with the song as potential "troublemakers," including Stevie Wonder and Cyndi Lauper. It's not entirely spelled out, but it seems he meant this in that their boisterous personalities could lead to distraction during the recording session – so Eddie Murphy, no stranger to Wonder impressions, and the ever-oddball Miley Cyrus are perfect for these roles. Imagine Murphy playing out the moment Wonder tried to add lyrics in Swahili to everyone else's annoyance, and Cyrus's raspy voice screeching out Lauper's, erm … memorable solo. (Aubrey Plaza could don a wig and facial hair to portray a surreal version of Waylon Jennings, if only because Plaza makes everything better, and it'd be hilarious watching her storm out of the studio in the middle of the session, huffing "Ain't no good ol' boy ever sung Swahili. I'm outta here!") Meanwhile, funny man David Alan Grier could step into the shoes of Al Jarreau, who apparently was almost too buzzed to function on set. Simply the best These dynamic divas shall be cast as such, no explanation needed: Solange Knowles as Diana Ross. Angela Bassett as Tina Turner. Keke Palmer as Dionne Warwick. Lady Gaga as Bette Midler. Born in the USA (for Africa!) "We Are the World" featured a heavy contingent of dudes we now classify broadly as [white] dad rockers; luckily, there's no shortage of actors in Hollywood who could play such roles. Austin Butler made a pretty good Elvis out of a pretty nothing script, so let's see what he can do with The Boss, Bruce Springsteen. I considered Harry Styles at first, but Chris Pine has the gravitas and endearingly cheesy masculine energy it takes to channel Huey Lewis. Bradley Cooper's rock star turn in A Star Is Born makes him a solid choice as Kenny Loggins. To play Paul Simon, get Martin Short – he will make that character weird. (Actually, this same approach applies to Daniel Radcliffe as Steve Perry, Jack Black as Billy Joel, and Nick Offerman as Kenny Rogers.) And for Bob Dylan, the poor guy who was visibly mortified to be outside his comfort zone singing this big, droopy bombastic ballad of a song: sad-eyed Jeremy Allen White. And rounding out the rest of this magnificent, ingenious main cast… Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles. (Duh.) Anderson Paak as James Ingram. Terrence Howard as Smokey Robinson. Chloe and Halle Bailey as two of the three Pointer Sisters. Bill Hader and Jon Bernthal as Hall and Oates. (This is perfect casting, and you know it.) Willie Nelson as Willie Nelson. J. Lo as Sheila E. Janelle Monáe as Prince. (No, The Purple One wasn't part of the song, but if you've watched the doc, you know why he's integral to this story.) Kristin Wiig as Kim Carnes. Michael Shannon as Bob Geldof. Jon Hamm as Lindsey Buckingham. And last, but certainly(?) not least: Bill Murray as Dan Aykroyd. Newsletter continues after sponsor message We Recommend Last month, I had the opportunity to moderate a conversation with Steven Soderbergh and André Holland at the Sundance Film Festival. This prompted me to finally catch up with their first collaboration, The Knick, a historical drama about a New York City hospital operating at the turn of the 20th century; Holland plays a surgeon who must contend with racism while trying to innovate his field. I missed the series during its original run on Cinemax, but both seasons are streaming on Max now and it's really, really good. It's not for the faint of heart – definitely way more blood and guts than you'll catch on a primetime hospital program– but worth checking out if you love a show like Deadwood and/or are a Clive Owen fan. As someone who's frequented Las Vegas several times in the last few years, most recently to see Beyoncé, I enjoyed reading our PCHH friend and NPR editor Bilal Qureshi's examination of how Sin City has become a sort of career rehabilitation hub for artists like Adele and Usher. Speaking of Ursher, baby – NPR Music's Sheldon Pearce unpacked the unique stakes Usher faces as he prepares to take center stage at the Super Bowl Halftime Show this weekend. (Yes, PCHH will be burning the late-night oil to bring you a recap soon after.) Listen to the Podcast Sponsor-Free Support your favorite pop culture junkies AND listen without sponsor interruptions with a subscription to Pop Culture Happy Hour+! Learn more and sign up at plus.npr.org/happy. Learn More What We Did This Week Taylor Swift poses with Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus of boygenius after the 66th annual Grammy Awards. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images Stephen was in full-on Grammys mode: He shared his 10 takeaways from the evening; and then he recapped the highs and lows with Hazel Cills, Anastasia Tsioulcas, and Reanna Cruz. Linda discussed the new Prime Video series Expats with Bedatri D. Choudry and Kat Chow. Linda and I were joined by Ronald Young, Jr. to chat about the Prime Video series Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Linda and Glen chatted about Lisa Frankenstein with Jordan Crucchiola and Monica Castillo. What's Making Us Happy Every week on the show, we talk about some other things out in the world that have been giving us joy lately. Here they are: Jordan Crucchiola: Sniper: G.R.I.T. – Global Response & Intelligence Team on Netflix Linda Holmes: Get the Picture, by Bianca Bosker Monica Castillo: Blue Eye Samurai on Netflix Glen Weldon: The Traitors: UK on Peacock Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour+. Your support helps make our show possible and unlocks access to our sponsor-free episodes. What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: pchh@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Music, Books, Daily News and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Pop Culture Happy Hour emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy