Billie Eilish’s new concert film Happier than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles is out today on Disney+, and the film’s co-director Robert Rodriguez hopes that fans will “watch it on the biggest screen possible. Speaking exclusively to Pop Culture.com about the new project, Rodriguez praised his team’s work on the movie. “I mean, it really came out incredible. It’s breathtaking to see it,” he said. “Watch it on the biggest screen as you can.”
Rodriguez worked with Academy Award-winning animator Patrick Osborne, as well as his own daughter and Eilish, to capture both the musical element and the brilliant animated aspects of the film. Noting how crucial it became that the concert footage was filmed at the iconic Hollywood Bowl, Rodriguez feels this element truly sets A Love Letter to Los Angeles apart from other concert films. “The stage is such a character of itself,” he shared. “It’s one of the main players in the show, just the way the light plays on it and them in that space, seeing them in that space with an orchestra and then when it’s just them. It just really stands out as different from other concert films.”
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The music special is based on Eilish’s newest album, Happier Than Ever, which debuted to mass critical acclaim this summer. Rodriguez had previously discovered Eilish’s music through his daughter, and gushed about how “amazing” the new record is. “It’s such a great and it’s such a strong album,” he said, then praising Happier Than Ever for how well it “plays sequentially” from track to track.
“There’s not many people who could just play one album and have that be a show,” Rodriguez went on to say. “And it’s a very satisfying, fantastic show. And some of the songs that you think are really great on the album, are even better live with the orchestra or just the way we do it, she does it, and then we shoot it.”
In addition to Eilish, the special also features her brother, producer/performer FINNEAS, as well as the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus. The Los Angeles Philharmonic is also featured, conducted by Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel, as is world-renowned Brazilian guitarist, Romero Lubambo. There are also Orchestra Arrangements by David Campbell. Happier Than Ever – A Love Letter to Los Angeles is now streaming on Disney+.
