Milli Vanilli - General Discussion

[DanaK]

Paramount+ documentary on the rise and fall of the music duo. Premieres October 24

[DanaK]

Billboard article on the doc and the director https://www.billboard.com/culture/tv-film/milli-vanilli-doc-director-talks-submission-2024-grammy-awards-consideration-lip-synch-1235441644/

Trailer

 

[Marigold66]

I can't wait to watch this!  I loved Milli Vanilli as a kid and it was such a shock when the whole charade came crashing down and their Grammys got taken away.  So very tragic what happened to Rob too.  I'm very interested to hear the back story of how they got to that stratospheric height of fame!  

[DanaK]

20 hours ago, Marigold66 said:

I can't wait to watch this!  I loved Milli Vanilli as a kid and it was such a shock when the whole charade came crashing down and their Grammys got taken away.  So very tragic what happened to Rob too.  I'm very interested to hear the back story of how they got to that stratospheric height of fame!  

It always bugged me that they got the brunt of the scandal fallout while the producer at the heart of it seemed to get away scot-free

Edited October 22, 2023 by DanaK

[Marigold66]

I watched this last night--I thought it was well done!   I loved seeing how Fab is flourishing with his family.  But it also highlighted how Rob's trajectory was the opposite.  Fab was able to emerge from the devastation while Rob just sunk into despair 😔  Frank Farian should be absolutely ashamed of himself for exploiting those guys like he did.  But guys like that never feel shame.  They just move on to their next grift.  Actually all those record execs who acted like they had no idea that they were participating in this ruse have blood on their hands, if you ask my opinion.  They wanted the money to keep rolling in when they were on top and didn't care if they threw them under the bus once it became apparent they couldn't keep the lie going.  

[Sarahsmile416]

On 10/25/2023 at 11:57 AM, Marigold66 said:

I watched this last night--I thought it was well done!   I loved seeing how Fab is flourishing with his family.  But it also highlighted how Rob's trajectory was the opposite.  Fab was able to emerge from the devastation while Rob just sunk into despair 😔  Frank Farian should be absolutely ashamed of himself for exploiting those guys like he did.  But guys like that never feel shame.  They just move on to their next grift.  Actually all those record execs who acted like they had no idea that they were participating in this ruse have blood on their hands, if you ask my opinion.  They wanted the money to keep rolling in when they were on top and didn't care if they threw them under the bus once it became apparent they couldn't keep the lie going.  

Exactly.  I could not feel too bad for Ingrid either.  She wants me to feel bad for her when she found Rob dead but she seems to forget that she has his blood on her hands too.  She wasn’t innocent in this.  

The fact that Frank Farian did this three separate times and each time got away with it unscathed is absolutely disgusting.  His wreath on Rob’s grave disgusted me.   

I’ll be honest, seeing Fab sing Blame it On the Rain at the end made me cry.   The shame of it all is that Fab did have a decent voice.  I don’t know if he would have made it big…but he was talented.  

And yes, the record execs with the shifty eyes pretending they didn’t know Rob and Fab weren’t credited on the album in Germany.  Bullshit 

[luckyroll3]

On 10/27/2023 at 5:43 PM, Sarahsmile416 said:

 I could not feel too bad for Ingrid either.  She wants me to feel bad for her when she found Rob dead but she seems to forget that she has his blood on her hands too.  She wasn’t innocent in this.

She was particularly despicable. That she was smirking and laughing at them all throughout the doc. And I didn't believe her for a second when she said they lied about trying to get out of the contract if they couldn't sing and were threatened that if they did, they would have to give the advances back. Especially when she followed it up with something like, "If they refused, they could go back and work as garbage men in Germany," followed by a chuckle. Oh, so you and Frank did threaten them. Garbage!

And here Frank comes with The Real Milli Vanilli....and more lipsyncers! Like what the heck!? They keep letting this guy get away with this shit! Same with Clive and Arista pretending like they didn't know. Also, how the hell did the head of the National Academies/Grammy's get out of this!?!?!?! 

I did laugh, though, when during the press conference, one of the reporters said to Rob that talent would have gotten them out of the projects, and someone in the audience yells, "spoken like a true white boy!"

[Sarahsmile416]

2 hours ago, luckyroll3 said:

She was particularly despicable. That she was smirking and laughing at them all throughout the doc. And I didn't believe her for a second when she said they lied about trying to get out of the contract if they couldn't sing and were threatened that if they did, they would have to give the advances back. Especially when she followed it up with something like, "If they refused, they could go back and work as garbage men in Germany," followed by a chuckle. Oh, so you and Frank did threaten them. Garbage!

And here Frank comes with The Real Milli Vanilli....and more lipsyncers! Like what the heck!? They keep letting this guy get away with this shit! Same with Clive and Arista pretending like they didn't know. Also, how the hell did the head of the National Academies/Grammy's get out of this!?!?!?! 

I did laugh, though, when during the press conference, one of the reporters said to Rob that talent would have gotten them out of the projects, and someone in the audience yells, "spoken like a true white boy!"

She claimed to love Rob…such bullshit.  Anyone who loved someone couldn’t do what she did.  What she liked is having someone depend on her…she just used and abused him, just like Farian.  

Ugh that press conference made me so angry.  Those poor kids.  The definition of throwing them to the wolves…the one bright spot was that guy from the audience for sure!

[Miss Slay]

I remember seeing the Behind the Music several times. This documentary was also good. 

I was so sad for Rob and Fab during the whole thing... It's despicable that the entire team didn't get backlash.

[Bastet]

On 10/29/2023 at 7:21 AM, luckyroll3 said:

I did laugh, though, when during the press conference, one of the reporters said to Rob that talent would have gotten them out of the projects, and someone in the audience yells, "spoken like a true white boy!"

Best part of the entire thing!

I was not a big fan at the time (although I still have a soft spot for "Blame It On the Rain"), so only knew the headlines when it all came crashing down, but I wound up working in the music industry several years later and it was openly acknowledged that, yeah, everyone knew.

It's disgusting that for all the people who profited off this charade, it ultimately fell at the feet of the two guys who had the least power.  I like that this documentary explicitly stated this was Frank Farian's business model, not a one off -- treating Black artists as disposable, interchangeable cogs in his $500m wheel.  My gods, when even "The Real Milli Vanilli" weren't real and he still didn't get run out of town on a rail.  And his performance surrounding Rob's funeral was disgusting.

I didn't realize the duo had become estranged as time went on between the fallout and Rob's death.  Or that they'd both had shitty childhoods from which they fled, desperate for a new family and finding brothers in each other, only for it all to later fall apart.  That makes the situation even sadder.

[Vivigirl10]

I thoroughly enjoyed this!  It made me really sad but it was also such a wonderful tale of true friendship.  

Funny how personalities weather the storm in different ways.  I'm sure Fab hardly escaped unscathed, but he kept on moving forward and appears to have such a lovely life now!  He seems like a really, sweet man.  The clip of him singing at the end was great - his voice sounded really developed and trained!

Sadly, I think post-fame Rob would have had difficulty however that would have come about.  Even if it happened in the more traditional way; where their music just naturally lost popularity and the crowds dwindled, it seems like he wouldn't have been able to transition out of being famous.  That theme of this need for attention was too clear.