According to Deadline, The Greatest Night in Pop has been given a January 29th streaming premiere date by Netflix. The documentary is making its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 19th.
The documentary, directed by Bao Nguyen, takes audiences back to January 25, 1985, when some of music’s greatest names came together in a Los Angeles studio to record a song benefiting the African famine relief; a moment that would change pop culture history forever. The documentary presents the massive feat of bringing these stars together in a pre-cellphone, pre-email era. Though the group, led by the song’s cowriters, Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, came from and catered to different music scenes, they all united to create “We Are the World.”
The Greatest Night in Pop features never-before-seen footage that details the early planning stages, such as the Richie-Jackson writing sessions. The film also goes inside Henson Studios, where the hit song was recorded. Along with this footage, those involved in the process will be sharing their stories about this legendary moment.
The documentary is being produced by Julia Nottingham, Richie, Bruce Eskotwiz, Larry Klein, Harriet Sternberg, and George Hencken. In addition, Angus Wall, Amit Dey, and Becky Read are all executive producers. Paramount’s Republic Pictures sold the documentary to Netflix.
Bao Nguyen is best known for his ESPN 30 for 30 documentary on Bruce Lee, Be Water as well as his documentary on SNL, Live from New York!. The director has also worked on the Vice News series Open Secrets.
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