Oscar-winning filmmaker Morgan Neville (Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, 20 Feet From Stardom) will highlight Rick Rubin’s eclectic resumé and unique creative process in Shangri-La, an upcoming documentary series about the acclaimed music producer. A “work-in-progress” cut will screen at the 2019 SXSW Festival, scheduled for March 8th-17th in Austin, Texas; the full project will air later in the year on Showtime.
Neville and Rubin will executive produce Shangri-La along with Jeff Malmberg, Danny Breen, Michael Goldberg, Eric Lynn, Isaac Heymann, Dianna Schmederman and Jason Schrift. Malmberg (editor of Won’t You Be My Neighbor?) will direct two episodes of the series, which is set at (and named after) Rubin’s Malibu, California recording studio.
Rubin began his career in the 1980s, co-founding Def Jam Records as a senior at New York University; at the label, he helped launch the careers of pioneering hip-hop acts like Public Enemy, Beastie Boys and Run-DMC. Over the decades, his production skills have translated to seemingly every genre – from rap (Eminem, Kanye West, Jay Z) to soul-pop (Adele) to country (Johnny Cash) to progressive rock (the Mars Volta) to metal (Black Sabbath), helping him rack up eight Grammy awards and 15 nominations.
The producer’s most recent work includes Smashing Pumpkins’ 2018 album, Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun., Billy Corgan’s 2017 solo record, Ogilala, and Eminem’s LP from the same year, Revival.